Brandon McCullough has built his political reputation on saying exactly what he thinks.

Sometimes, he told me, that's gotten him in trouble.

When the millage proposal was shot down in August, Brandon was in the middle of it, putting his strong opinions out online. When the dust settled, he had to sit with the reality that the city he grew up in still needed a new police station and a community that no longer fully trusted the people trying to build it.

Through that process, Brandon learned the hard way that humility in a leadership role goes further than being right.

In our episode we cover:

Brandon, thank you for your honesty and for your genuine care for this city.

*Chapters*

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Jay Murray is a contributing writer at the Michigan Enjoyer who holds White House press credentials and has spent the last two years covering Livonia from the inside. He's lived there almost his entire life. 

He loves the city... but he's also watched it stall.

What he's found in Livonia surprised him... A suburb that still looks like 1982. A political machine dating back decades that still shapes Wayne County. Residents organizing in yellow shirts to protest chicken restaurants, car washes, and gas stations while an abandoned Sears building rots with dead animals inside. A city council caught between angry crowds and the law.

In this episode of Unlocking The Law, we cover:

Something specific that stuck with me from my talk with Jay is how easily nostalgia becomes resistance. People aren't always fighting against something new; sometimes they're just holding on to what's familiar, even when what's familiar is a decaying building with no plan.

Jay, thanks for coming on and bringing so much energy and honesty!

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Veronica Cruz runs two nonprofits almost entirely on volunteer power, and she's seen people start with fire in their hearts and a cause they believe in... but very quickly reality hits.

✕ The paperwork takes months. 

In our episode, Veronica walks through what actually goes into building a nonprofit that lasts:

Starting a nonprofit requires a great vision and mission, but it also means building systems that outlive your own involvement.

Thank you Veronica Cruz for taking the time to talk!

*Connect with Veronica*

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Recruiter Adam Klug knows what really happens when non-competes enter the hiring conversation.

Adam has seen four-year restrictions kill otherwise perfect job offers and he's learned that most people who sign these agreements never actually read them.

Our conversation gets into the mechanics of non-competes: what courts actually enforce, why geography clauses written in the 1980s don't make sense in a remote work world, and how one three-way negotiation between an old employer, new employer, and the employee caught in the middle actually worked out.

I break down the legal side of non-competes: 

We also talk about what most business owners never do: dust off their employment documents and ask whether they still make sense.

Host Brandon Grysko is joined by Risk Consultant Kefentse Mandisa for an honest, practical conversation about Employment Practices & Liability Insurance. They discuss what it covers, where employers get burned, how claims actually unfold, and why documentation, early reporting, and risk management matter more than most businesses realize.

In the first episode of Unlocking the Law with Brandon Gryskoo, attorney and host Brandon kicks off the series by breaking down the top five phrases every lawyer dreads to hear from a client - and why they matter. 

From "I already signed it" to "This should be quick and easy," Brandon shares real-world insight that helps demystify the attorney-client relationship.