Leah Stiles served 20 years in the Navy with an eating disorder she had carried since she was 11 years old. She watched a gap in care exist, tried to ignore it, nearly lost her life trying to find help within it, and then decided if not her, then who.

In this episode of Truthfully, Tracy, Leah — retired Navy Senior Chief, Syracuse University alum, and founder of SEA WAVES — opens up about what it means to carry something invisible through a culture that demands strength above all else. We talk about the military's weight standards and the perfect storm they create, the devastating overlap between eating disorders and military suicide, the 2023 law requiring eating disorder education for military leadership that still isn't being implemented, and her book Battle Scars and Body Wars — with a foreword by the legendary Carolyn Costin — which is already being used by therapists and treatment centers across the country. We also talk about the hallway at Syracuse University's IVMF where Leah and I met for the very first time, and the moment that changed everything.

SEA WAVES stands for Support, Education, Awareness, Wellness, Advocacy, Validation, and Suicide Prevention. Every letter is a gap Leah is personally closing.

Need a light? Be a light.

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: [INSERT YOUTUBE LINK]

🌐 sea-waves.org
📱 @seawavesinc
📖 Battle Scars & Body Wars: a.co/d/08Fpx25o

Also follow: @carolyncostin | @syracuseuniversity

📸 Branding photos: @lovingmycompany
🛋️ Set design & furniture: @kayleenspicer — everything on set is FOR SALE!
Season sponsor — marketing: @tangosquared

✨ A huge thank you to our season sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week!

Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.

⚠️ This episode contains discussions of eating disorders, suicide, and trauma. Please listen with care.

Tommy Lincoln didn't leave Syracuse when he could have. And everything about Stay Fresh is the reason why.

Tommy is the founder and creative director of Stay Fresh — a design studio and art gallery on Syracuse's Near West Side that has quietly become one of the most important creative anchors in Central New York. He grew up here, skated these streets, snuck into swing nights at the Phantom Club, and absorbed the city's creative energy long before he started shaping it. From the branding and packaging for Beak & Skiff and 1911 Hard Cider to the visual identity for Ayrloom, Glazed & Confused, and Mayor Ben Walsh's campaign — Tommy has helped define what this city looks like. He's also built a gallery that hosts monthly shows, created the annual Chalk Jam, the Nickelodeon Tribute Show, and a December artist portrait exchange that brings the creative community together every year and regularly moves people to tears.

But this conversation goes well beyond the portfolio. Tommy gets honest about imposter syndrome — the door that opens for every creative whether they admit it or not — and about the creative burnout he's been quietly navigating, what it took to finally admit it, and how therapy, rest, and a road trip across the country have all been part of finding his way through. He talks about why he stayed in Syracuse when leaving felt like the easier call, what the Near West Side arts corridor means for the future of the city, and what's coming next — an expanded gallery space that will bring workshops, local artists, and community energy under one roof.

This one is for every creative who has ever wondered whether the work is worth it. It is.

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: [INSERT YOUTUBE LINK]

📲 @stayfresh.design | @stayfresh.gallery | @designpackets | @saturdaydetentionradio
🌐 stayfresh.design | stayfresh.gallery

📸 Branding photos: @lovingmycompany
🛋️ Set design & furniture: @kayleenspicer — everything on set is FOR SALE!
Season sponsor — marketing: @tangosquared

✨ A huge thank you to our season sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week!

Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.

Matt Reed joins Truthfully, Tracy for a conversation about building a media brand from scratch, staying authentic on camera, and why "boring" content never wins. Matt is co-founder of Spatchcock Funk, a food and culture show airing on PBS Syracuse (now in Season 3, with Season 4 in the works), created alongside his creative partner Alex. We get into how the show's name came together, why every episode starts with a theme and a social justice message before the food ever gets picked, and how they've built a brand that's edgy, inclusive, and unapologetically itself.

Matt and Tracy talk about the vulnerability behind creative work, learning from bad decisions instead of hiding from them, and why authenticity is the thing audiences actually stick around for. Matt opens up about his own growth, his marriage to Stephanie Crockett (CEO of MOA), and how having a genuinely supportive partner changes what you're able to build. We also get into the business side: what it's really like pitching sponsors, chasing viral moments that never go the way you expect, working with brands like Heirloom, and the mindset shift from Fans First by the founder of the Savannah Bananas.

If you're into behind-the-scenes stories on content creation, podcasting, building a media company, marriage and partnership in business, personal growth, and staying real in a world of polished branding, this episode is for you.

Topics covered: Spatchcock Funk origin story, PBS television production, building a media company, branding and authenticity, social justice in content creation, podcast growth and going viral, marriage and creative partnership, Stephanie Crockett and MOA, personal growth from past mistakes, Fans First and the Savannah Bananas, sponsorship and advertising in content, Central New York media.

Emily Gozy has spent her career helping people stop fighting their food — and start trusting themselves around it.

As a Registered Dietitian, Founder and CEO of Nourished with Emily, and 2022 Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year, Emily's approach lives entirely in the gray area. No rigid rules. No guilt. No impossible standards of perfection. In this episode she walks us through her PCC framework — Protein, Carbohydrates, and Color — a simple, practical tool for building balanced meals that works in real life. She talks about why consistency will always beat perfection, why convenience foods are nothing to be ashamed of, and why her ultimate goal is to make herself unnecessary — giving every client the tools to become their own dietitian for life. She also gets honest about disordered eating, something she says touches the vast majority of people, often rooted in societal pressure, family conditioning, or trauma, and what it really takes to slow down and reconnect with your body's own hunger and fullness cues. Plus a look at her growing corporate wellness work and why workplaces are finally paying attention to nutrition.

Practical, freeing, and full of permission to just eat the food.

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube:

📲 @nourishedwithemily

📸 Branding photos: @lovingmycompany
🛋️ Set design & furniture: @kayleenspicer — everything on set is FOR SALE!
🎨 Marketing & logo: @tangosquared

✨ A huge thank you to our official sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week!

Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.

Andrew Lunetta wasn't a developer or a housing expert when he started A Tiny Home for Good in 2014. He was a 24-year-old who had spent years working in Syracuse homeless shelters and couldn't stop thinking about a better way.

The answer he landed on was simple and radical at the same time: build real homes, on permanent foundations, with no roommates, no time limits, and a landlord who actually cares. Then stay. Keep showing up. Do the case management. Navigate the crises. Celebrate the small wins. In this episode, Andrew walks us through what that model looks like in practice — 47 occupied units, a 92% year-over-year tenant retention rate, 22 more fully funded units on the way, and a weekly Tuesday morning neighborhood walk open to anyone who wants to be part of the community. He talks about why getting someone housed is just the beginning, and why the slow, careful, consistent work that comes after is where the real change happens.

Andrew was recently named a CNN Hero — and after hearing this conversation, you'll understand exactly why.

🌐 atinyhomeforgood.org
🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: [INSERT YOUTUBE LINK]

📲 [INSERT ANDREW'S HANDLE]

📸 Branding photos: @lovingmycompany
🛋️ Set design & furniture: @kayleenspicer — everything on set is FOR SALE!
🎨 Marketing & logo: @tangosquared

✨ A huge thank you to our official sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week!

Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.

Melissa Murphy didn't come from healthcare. She came from a sense of purpose — and that turned out to be more powerful than any credential.

As CEO and founder of Aging Advocates CNY, Melissa built a nonprofit called Living with Dementia from a community conference, grew her team from 12 to over 100 through a company acquisition, and built a mission around moving families from crisis management to proactive planning around aging, powers of attorney, and end-of-life decisions. In this episode she gets honest about the myth of work-life balance for women juggling careers and family, what turning 40 unlocked in her, and why outgrowing relationships is one of the most painful and necessary parts of real personal growth. She and Tracy also share their own personal experiences of SA at massage establishments, and why speaking up publicly is the only way to break cycles of shame and silence.

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube:

📲 @Melissa_TheAgingAdvocate, @TheAgingAdvocate

📸 Branding photos: @lovingmycompany
🛋️ Set design & furniture: @kayleenspicer — everything on set is FOR SALE!
🎨 Marketing & logo: @tangosquared

✨ A huge thank you to our official sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week!

Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.

Latavius Murray spent 10 years in the NFL. But the work he was always meant to do was waiting for him back home.

In this episode of Truthfully, Tracy, Latavius opens up about the mother who relocated her family to give her kids something better, and how watching her work became the foundation for everything he's built since. He talks about his decade-long NFL career across six teams, the MBA he pursued while still playing, and the intentional effort he made to prepare for the life that came after football. And he talks about John — his lifelong friend, taken by gun violence — and how that grief, carried quietly while playing at the highest level, became the driving force behind the JD Community Center in Nedrow, New York. The center will serve as a resource hub for the South Side of Syracuse, the Onondaga Nation, Lafayette, and the surrounding communities. $8.5 million has been raised. The goal is to break ground in spring 2027.

This is a conversation about grief, purpose, and what it looks like to turn love into legacy.

🌐 jdcenter.org
🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/a2cG_gMBMOI

📲 @lataviusmurray

📸 Branding photos: @lovingmycompany
🛋️ Set design & furniture: @kayleenspicer — everything on set is FOR SALE!
🎨 Marketing & logo: @tangosquared

✨ A huge thank you to our official sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week!

Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.

"Like a girl." For too long those words have been used as an insult. Tahirah Abdul-Qadir decided that ends now.

Tahirah is a social justice advocate, second-degree black belt, Team USA kickboxer, Presidential Gold Service Award recipient, United Nations contributor, and Rare Beauty mental health ambassador , all from Syracuse, NY. She's also the founder of FLAG Empowerment LLC — Fight Like a Girl — a platform dedicated to reclaiming that phrase and using it to uplift women and girls physically, mentally, and emotionally.

In this episode, we talk about what a lifetime of martial arts and competition taught her about discipline, confidence, and resilience and how she built a five-week leadership academy to put those same lessons in the hands of girls ages 13 to 17. We also get into the mental health crisis quietly unfolding for young women in the digital age, the documentary she helped create on social media's impact on youth, and why the most powerful thing any of us can do is block out the noise and bet on ourselves completely.

This one is fierce, warm, and full of fire.

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/q8bakoy3BGo

📲 FOLLOW TAHIRAH:
➡️ Instagram: @tahirahaq04 & @flag.fightlikeagirl
💼 linkedin.com/in/tahirah-abdul-qadir-57a164234
🎵 TikTok: @tahirahaq04

📸 Branding photos: @lovingmycompany
🛋️ Set design & furniture: @kayleenspicer — everything on set is FOR SALE!
🎨 Marketing & logo: @tangosquared

✨ A huge thank you to our official sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week!

Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.

Most people treat their health the way they'd fix a car by only checking the tires — and then wonder why nothing changes.

Jason Minnamon, CEO of NuME and USMC veteran, is back on Truthfully, Tracy with a conversation that gets to the root of why so many people feel stuck in their wellness journey. Jason walks us through NuME's total system philosophy — treating the body as an integrated whole rather than a collection of isolated problems — and explains how functional genomics, DNA pathway mapping, and comprehensive biomarker testing can give each person a personalized roadmap built around their unique biology. We also get honest about the wellness industry's darker side: the fragmented care model, predatory marketing, unvetted products, and what can go wrong when tools like GLP-1 medications are used without the right support structure.

And we look ahead at what NuME is building next — the Life Passport digital platform, an AI health assistant, and a flagship wellness facility in upstate New York.

📲 @jason_minnamon | 🌐 numelifepassport.com

✨ A huge thank you to our official sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week!

Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.

Eddie Brennan didn't just inherit a farm — he inherited a responsibility.

As president and CEO of Beak & Skiff and Ayrloom, Eddie has spent the last two decades making bold decisions to keep a 115-year-old, fifth-generation business not just alive, but thriving. In this episode, he walks us through how 1911 Hard Cider was launched out of necessity and grew into a top 10 national brand, how Ayrloom was built from the ground up to become the number one cannabis brand in New York State, and what it felt like to leave New York City and come home in his early 30s to lead a legacy that stretches back over a century.

We also talk about the Apple Hill concert series, the brand new Apple Grove adventure park coming this fall, the power of vertical integration, and why the loyalty of the Syracuse community has been the quiet force behind all of it.

A CNY story about land, legacy, and the courage to keep going.

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KZTVxB185XY

✨ A huge thank you to our official sponsor Tangosquared — you make Truthfully, Tracy possible every single week!

Truthfully, Tracy is a CNY podcast dedicated to real conversations with real people. New episodes every week.