Too Posh Podcast

We welcome back Ashley Cook who is a dual diagnosis therapist and Nicolette Pianelli who is a recovering addict and has been sober for 20 months. We all believe that Ashlee saved Nicolette’s life but Ashley says you have to want your life to be saved to be able to save it.
Ashley believes there is still a lot of stigma around therapy.. Ashley then shares her exciting news about her engagement.
Nicolette tells us that she is moving out of her sober house and into her older sisters house and tells us all about what sober houses are.
She then shares the devastating news about her ex-boyfriend’s death from an accidental drug overdose.
She found out while on a family vacation and she takes us through the moments when she found out and the moments after.
She talks about some of the problems that she had with her ex boyfriend of eight years and that there were also so many positives and that her boyfriend called her and apologized for a lot of things before he died and she’s very happy about that.
She tells us that it was Tommy who told her middle sister that she had relapsed and her sister found needles in her purse and in essence Thommy possibly saved her life by doing that.
Nicolette‘s mom will always be grateful for for that. Nicolette always hoped that her and Tommy would get married one day and have children and live happily ever after.
We ask her if she is in danger of relapsing with these devastating news but what she tells us will surprise you.
Nicolette wants everyone to know that it’s easy to write people off that are addicted but sometimes people forget there’s a person behind that addict and she hopes that people will not give up on addicts and she’s lucky that her parents never gave up on her.

The amazing Colleen Michaelis is back to discuss her passion for raising awareness and making changes to the opioid epidemic in the USA.
She wants to not only raise awareness but fight against the stigma of addiction in memory of her beautiful son Tommy McClenahan who sadly passed away of an accidental drug overdose on August 10, 2018.
Drug overdose is the Number 1 cause of death in under 25 year olds.
There is no discrimination of age, race, gender or where you live. Addiction is everywhere.
Colleen wrote about what her first and second months were like without her son and we read the summary. There are little signs and messages we all believe are sent from heaven for her to know that Tommy is still with her.
Colleen encourages everyone to read the book Dopesick by Beth Macy.
“NOT EVERYTHING THAT IS FACED CAN BE CHANGED, BUT NOTHING CAN BE CHANGED IF IT IS NOT FACED”
We hear about graphics of staggering, crazy numbers of drug overdoses.
It is like a 737 plane crashing every single day. That is how many people die daily of drug overdose in this country alone.
When there is stigma surrounding something people don’t talk about it. We have to keep talking about it. It is the most important thing.
FDA approved an even stronger painkiller than Fentanyl, which is frightening.
Colleen is joining Shatterproof which is an organisation all over the country that works to bring awareness and education. They also research the best treatment to give to people that are unable to have access to it. Only 1 in 10 people suffering are able to get good treatment.
There is a 5 K race for Team Tommy in Dallas on November 17. Please join if you can and donate.
Tommy was involved in an organization called Recovery Unplugged, Face the Music in Austin.
Colleen wants more regulation for rehab centers.
She shares with us that for 1 solid year of opioid addiction it takes an average of 8 years of in and out treatment and relapse to get 1 year of sobriety!!!!!!
The grip that drug has on your brain and body is unbelievable. Most people don’t have 8 years.
We learn about Tommy’s Letterman jacket that was missing for 5 years and was returned to his family after his death.
We end the show with an important lesson for everyone. Instead of asking people how many children they have start saying “Tell me about your family”. This will help make things less painful for people that have lost children.
We added the slideshow that was shown at Tommy’s funeral to the end of this podcast on our YouTube channel.

Colleen Michaelis allows us to interview her less than 3 months after her 24 year old son Thommy McClenahan passed away from an accidental drug overdose.
She believes that when good or bad things happen in your life, they give you the strength and opportunity to help others.
She wants to raise awareness and teach people about the stigma about the addiction problem in our country.
Colleen tells us she got pregnant with Thommy when she was 29. She remembers the wild, rambunctious, active, little boy, who never slept through the night, was strong willed and could never be bribed unless they were super hero figures.
Thommy had no sense of danger at elementary age.
Colleen was super proud of Thommy and he was exactly what she dreamed of having as a son. Fearless, with a huge heart that was drawn to special needs kids that he always included.
He was a super star Lacrosse player at this high school and they won the State Championship twice which led to 41 colleges offering him a scholarship.
His little brother Ben looked up to Thommy.
She talks about living in an affluent suburb of Dallas where 98% of the parents have a college degree. The kids living there don’t want for much.
Growing up in a town like that can create anxiety about having to be perfect, because everything looks so perfect.
Colleen tells us about the small red flags that started in High school that then began being slightly bigger signs of trouble when he was a Senior in High School when he became less hopeful for his future.
He started not caring for his passion Lacrosse which affected his relationship with his coach.
There were lots of issues that created a Tornado effect for Thommy that give you reasons to not be your best.
Even with all these issues he was still great and energetic and Colleen truly thought he would get to college and be great.
Thommy hid it well, he always looked good, went places and had his big smile with a 4.1 grade point average.
At his Freshman year at the University of Mississippi he increasingly got more depressed, got very anxious and didn’t want to leave his room.
By the time parents weekend came he seemed happy, so Colleen left hopeful that everything was going to be alright.
He didn’t go to classes but did participate in lots of Fraternity activities.
2nd semester of his Freshman year he asked his parents for help because he recognized that he had a problem.
Colleen was shocked because in her mind he is Thommy – he is going to be fine.
They took him to a rehab facility hoping they would admit him for in patient treatment, but they suggested out patient treatment.
The same night he went to his girlfriends house, took a cocktail of drugs, Xanax and other pills and sliced his wrists which was terrifying. He had no memory of this event.
Colleen and Thommy’s Dad were in shock and panic and got him into a psyche unit for 48 hours followed by in patient rehab center, which helped tremendously.
The following year he went back to the University of Mississippi and fell backwards. Colleen says a lot of parents would have brought their child back home, but they thought
it was better for him to stay as far away from their seemingly perfect suburban neighborhood where his troubles started.
After a wake board accident he was prescribed 3 refills of hydrocodone for a total of 90 pills. He couldn’t conquer that.
The progression was hydrocodone to oxycontin to heroin.
January 2018 after his Dad found syringes they put him in the Recovery Unplugged rehab in Austin, where he did great and graduated to living with a roommate on July 1, 2018.
Colleen takes us through the details of the fateful day of August 10, 2018, the day her precious son passed away and how she found out and the days after that.
She explains that addiction and relapse is a 5 second decision.

We are back with the inspirational and spiritual Mr. Chris Sapphire and we discuss all things behind the filming of his scenes in the worldwide Netflix Hit Show Dancing Queen.
Chris and Marcella tell us that they are all for the filter while filming the show.
Chris believes that the world wants a second season really badly and he thanks America for all the love when he then realizes that the show is shown worldwide.
He tells us that he shares a true genuine friendship with Justin aka Alyssa Edwards and that he is so happy for his success.
He says Alyssa Edwards is bigger than life and an angel that is spreading angel dust in the world.
It is beautiful and magical how fate has brought the right people together for this moment in time.
Chris is certain that there will not only be a season 2 but seasons all the way to 10 and beyond, because Justin has the ability to energize the world and we all want to see more.
THE WEDDING – Marek and Richard
Chris says the wedding was mesmerizing and the coolest wedding he has ever been to. Colors everywhere and the Space Cowboy theme.
As he is reminiscing he realizes how the experience of being part of Dancing Queen is so surreal. He tells us that it has taken him almost a year to heal his feet from wearing the wrong socks with cowboy boots at that wedding.
Chris is in awe all over again about the fact that Dancing Queen is global and then says but Alyssa Edwards fan base is global.
THE BOWLING ALLEY – He said that scene took a long time to film and it was in the middle of the summer and it was very hot and sweaty. He said the lanes were super slippery and they had to be very careful not to fall while dancing.
Chris says that as a person that loves and studies pop culture, God willing there will be seasons 2,3,4,5, and he promises if everyone thought that this was good JUST WAIT!!!!!!!
Chris and Marcella think that everyone will be more comfortable, confident and everything will get better and better.
Chris tells us that before the show aired he had to sit at home and meditate because he didn’t know what to expect.
DRAGSGIVING – So much fun, He says he loves that Alyssa overdecorates the house, because it makes it extra special for their special family. He says it reminds him of the movie Richie Rich, like a little slice of that. He loved hanging out with Shangela and have fun and drinks with all the friends. All the years a lot of them get together for all the holidays like a true family.
RECORDING STUDIO – Chris is so proud and he was there to guide Justin.
He feels like everyone is living in a dream, as he remembers that special moment in time.
HAUS OF EDWARDS – We learn exactly how that works, what it means and who was the original Haus of Edwards and what it has evolved into.
DRAG CON NEW YORK – Chris shares all the details including the experience at Lady Gaga’s restaurant.
ONE WOMAN SHOW – Amazing and tons of fans. The line was so long but Alyssa stayed until every single person could get a photo.
Then Chris tells us all about Justin and his incredible energy.
To end the show Chris gives some amazing spiritual advice and tells us that he and Justin often listen to Joyce Meyer and that Justin relies a lot on his faith.
https://www.instagram.com/mrchrissapphire/

We pop a bottle of champagne to cheer with our amazing guest Mr. Chris Sapphire to life, him being so kind to stop by our show and the release of the worldwide hit show Dancing Queen.
Chris teaches us how to deal with anxiety, people’s negativity and encourages everyone to write in a journal, because that is your therapist. He says that God the Creator Of All Things says that anxiety is a lie.
We learn about how Chris grew up in the Dallas, Texas area and about his scholastic life that has all kinds of twists and turns.
Chris excels in commercial painting. He paints celebrities and his paintings always sell out. He is beyond talented.
Chris loves Make Up, went to cosmetology school and became a very sought after Make Up Artist.
He became a My Space Star through his success with Make up and that is how he met Alyssa Edwards many years ago. She asked him to do her Make Up and they have stayed best friends ever since.
Chris got mistaken for Danny Noriega from American Idol, who is also known as Adore Delano from Ru Paul’s Drag Race.
Eventually they became friends online through a live internet show and Danny had over 500.000 viewers who also fell in love with Chris and that is how he got his own following and became an Internet Star.
He landed a Radio Gig for 8 years with MZ Now interviewing celebrities with Michael Zavala. The world is small and this happens to be the owner of the studio we record at.
Chris was part of the hosts to review the Grammy fashions from the red carpet. We try to convince him to become the new Joan Rivers and restart his own show of Fashion Police.
We think he is born for it.
Chris went from being known on the Internet to Internet Radio to You Tube and then a National Television Icon on a show called Eye Opener for CW Network.
We learn when he figured out that he was gay and when and how he told his family and how his family reacted.
Chris has been single since 2005 and believes the Lord will bring the perfect person to him at the right moment. He wouldn’t mind if that person would be Jay Manuel from
America’s Next Top Model.
Chris wants to get married one day to the right person. He is monogamous and doesn’t believe in all the hook up sites, even though he doesn’t judge people who enjoy them.
He tells us about his darkest time when he was 14 years old and Adults were bullying him daily. It got so bad that he planned to end his life. The negativity and abuse had become too overbearing to handle another day.
He stumbled upon the book “Stop Worrying – Start Living” by Dale Carnegie.
He opened it and it literally saved his life that day and made him turn to the bible.
We talk about his love for spicy food.
He idolizes Selena and we discuss how she is still a Super Star even though she has been dead for over 20 years.
We then hear a short expert from one of his music videos and original singles called Shake your Ass. This is a definite Must Listen.

Woogy is back and this hour it gets crazy. Fasten your seat belts.
First Woogy tells us that he was engaged many years ago and we want to know how someone like Woogy proposes. He has been single after a series of tumultuous relationships.
He says he wants to get married and have children one day, but only with the right person.
He promises that he would even give up his crazy party lifestyle.
He used to go on 6 day binders with no sleep, in and out of jail.
We ask him if he is a loyal boyfriend – the answer is quite interesting. Even though he has had many girlfriends he has only had 2 really bad breakups.
We then discuss what we consider cheating. When he suspected a former girlfriend of cheating he got someone to hack into her email and found out that she was emailing her ex boyfriend and
sending naked pictures to him, planning to hook up with him. He then retaliated in the worst way.
Woogy tells us about his favorite night of his life having a 3some. There is a lot of bleeping to protect the girls names. Boy what a life Woogy lives.
He tells us that he has had only had 2 true loves in Dallas.
He vows that he can be faithful with the right person. He warns that if he gets double crossed he can be terribly vindictive. He retaliates in the worst way possible.
We ask his opinion on how he feels about girls having sugar Daddies.
We ask him how he feels about one night stands.
He tells us that he is a nipple connoisseur.

Kevin Gerew joins us and tells us how he ended up with his nickname Woogy. It has something to do with the movie “Something about Mary”.
Woogy loves living his life to the fullest, loves to have fun and laugh and he loves to break all the rules and loves to live on the edge and he also loves women. A LOT.
He then tells us about his childhood and he shares with us that he was a nerd growing up and got severely bullied. His sisters friends beat him up and locked him up inside of a locker, because they thought
it was cool to be bullies. Woogy was not part of the cool kids around 5th and 6th grade.
In 8th grade he flipped a switch and decided he would not let anyone pick on him ever again and started fighting. A LOT.
He started playing football and took all his aggression out on the field, but got thrown out of every other game for fighting. He still was an All American player, despite all of that.
He tells us how his Dad grew up very, very poor and built a multi million dollar business with a company called “Let’s all work to fight drug abuse”. They were the largest distributor of drug educational material in the USA.
Woogy didn’t always abide by all the rules.
Troy Aikman from the Dallas Cowboys is a very close family friend of Woogy’s. Gabrielle shares that she has held a grudge against Troy for many years. They used to be neighbors in Hackberry Creek in Las Colinas, TX and
Gabrielle took Marcella who at the time was a JR. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader to his house to ask him to sign a football for the Cystic Fibrosis Charity. This was an important cause for Gabrielle, because one of her close friends daughter suffers
from the disease. Troy simply said NO he wouldn’t sign the football, much to the shock and disappointment of Gabrielle.
Marcella then admits that she confetti bombed Troy Aikman’s house with her friends and her Dad was not pleased.
We talk about how much we love the new Texas Live facility next door to the Dallas Cowboys Football Stadium.
we also discuss how the new concert venue Lava Cantina has taken off and is an awesome place to go to.
Then Woogy shares the history of his very close friendship with Keith Moses who suddenly passed away a year ago.
We end the show with a story about an incident that happened to Marcella at Concrete Cowboy in Frisco Texas and how Woogy is still mad that he couldn’t fight the guy because his Dad was there.

Natalia Kahn who looks identical to Jasmine from Aladdin is back and we go behind the scenes in the fitness world.
She used to be a Kim Dawson runway model and then tried a fitness competition and got hooked.
She tells us about how difficult it is to stay on the strict diet regimen for 20 plus weeks to prepare for a fitness competition show. She says it is a tough mental challenge.
She believes the industry is so tough that you have to only concentrate on your own personal growth and you cannot compare yourself to anyone else.
She doesn’t believe in taking steroids but doesn’t judge others that do.
We get a lesson what all the categories and all the call outs mean at the competitions.
Being a fitness competitor is extremely expensive and is almost impossible without sponsors. It is super difficult to get sponsors now because the market is getting very saturated.
We learn what the IFBB and the Pro Card mean and stand for.
Not surprising to hear that this whole Fitness Competition World is very political. It all depends who you know, who coaches you, what city are you from, who sponsors you etc. etc.
If you are chasing the trophy you will not last, only personal growth will.
Natalia preps all her own food. Once she had to eat chicken for 22 weeks and now she cannot even have one bite of chicken.
All food has to be measured to the ounce and you have to make sure to weigh yourself
Natalia is very grounded and tries to never miss out on regular life experiences because she is prepping for a show. She just adjusts accordingly.
We get a lesson what a fitness persons day consist of and how often they eat and what they eat.
Not surprising but we find out that there is a lot of jealousy especially on the pro level. It is very cut throat. Girls have had their heels stolen and their competition bikinis strings cut.
Natalia is very special and she truly has found the balance to have a normal life while being in the fitness industry.
She tells us how it is hell to go through peak week.
Natalia tells us that she never dates anyone in the fitness industry because the men are way too self absorbed flexing their muscles in the mirror constantly. She also doesn’t like the rages the steroids
cause them to have.
You can find Natalia here https://www.instagram.com/natalia_kahn/

We welcome the beautiful Natalia Kahn who is one of our social media influencers as well as a model for our Too Posh Boutique.
Her Mom is from the Philippines and her Dad is from Pakistan and Arabia. The cultural differences were so huge that Natalia had a very difficult childhood because her Dad was very abusive to her Mom.
Natalia is a free spirit that did’t understand why her Mom wasn’t strong enough to stand up to her Dad. It made her resent her Mom.
Her Mom was submissive to her Dad and the abuse got worse as the years went on.
When she was 16 years old the abuse got so bad that Natalia called the police on her dad who had to go to jail.
That woke him up and that was the last time he abused her Mom and they are still married to this day. She says her relationship with her parents is tolerable today. She finally forgave her Dad, which has healed her.
She became a very rebellious teenager and didn’t care about anything. She was lucky to have a best friend, Rachel whose family took her in and whose support she still has. She spends all holidays with them.
In college she was with an aggressive boyfriend and it scared her because she did not want to end up in a abusive relationship and broke it off rather quickly.
Then she got married and started replicating what she saw growing up. They only lasted a few months.
That relationship taught her how not to be, because she was the aggressive one and she learned all the things she did wrong and vowed to never repeat those actions.
Then she was in a relationship with a guy that she was very in love with for 3 years and she was the perfect girlfriend. Sadly she found out that he cheated on her with a 17 year old girl.
She had to find out in the worst way. The girlfriend contacted her over Instagram to tell her.
Natalia was heartbroken She is very trusting and never thought that he would do that to her.
Besides being a fitness model Natalia is a teacher for special Ed in a middle school in the autism unit. Her passion is to help these kids. She is a true inspiration.
She is also a private trainer.

The Too Posh Girls have decided to re release this important and powerful episode and they have included the powerful and sobering sound bytes of Morgan and Bode Miller as well as Nicole Hughes as they share their heartbreaking stories of losing their toddlers on the same day to drowning.
They share that a child 30 lbs and under can drown in 30 seconds. They give us some insight into what happened on their awful day and how this could happen to anyone. They were both vigilant mothers about water safety and took every precaution known to man.
Yet their babies drowned and when you hear them tell their stories it will change your life forever.
It is heart wrenching, yet we owe it to them to listen since they are brave enough to share their stories.
They have united in their grief and want to bring the urgency of this conversation to everyone. They are pushing to have this conversation at every well visit appointment in ever doctors office. They are pushing for a change with the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Nicole Hughes talks about Levi’s legacy program for water guardians.
Please share this episode with all your friends and family.
https://www.today.com/video/first-look-bode-miller-morgan-beck-miller-open-up-about-daughter-s-drowning-on-today-1286694979787?v=railb&;
https://www.today.com/video/morgan-miller-fellow-mom-nicole-hughes-raise-awareness-after-drowning-of-children-1289047107813?v=railb&;
https://www.today.com/video/morgan-miller-fellow-mom-nicole-hughes-raise-awareness-after-drowning-of-children-1289047107813?v=railb&;
https://www.knoxnews.com/videos/news/local/2018/07/06/nicole-hughes-talks-levis-legacy/756010002/