Vernon & Friends

Last year I released part one of  The Ego of Social Darwinism. It was an interview with my childhood friend from 2015 and was my third most popular episode on the podcast. I decided to release part two to kick off the New Year. Paul Columbus shares deep insights surrounding life, art, and ego.

This the story of Amazon. You might have seen him throughout your daily musing. You might have even mistaken him for being different than you and I. The truth is we are no different and when you pull back all the labels and B.S., you start to see that we're all soldiers of the same struggle.

In 2015 I sat down with my good friend and former member of hip-hop duo 40Long, D Moon. Nowadays you can find him rocking stages from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon under the moniker A Lunar Landing. In our interview Dan chronicles his post-graduate  Kerouac-ish van living travel across the U.S., caring for his dying grandmother, and overcoming stage fright.

Sometimes you just have to vent. You gotta throw your hands up and say fuck it! I had one of those days yesterday and I needed to express myself. I needed to get out of my head and into my journal. Emotions ran high and It ended up spilling over into this podcast for the world to hear. Consider it my therapy. I hope this serves you on your journey.

In my mid-twenties, if found myself disenfranchised with the so-called American dream. It was 2010 and the U.S. economy was in shambles. Wall Street hustlers and corporate executives had sold their souls for a piece of the American Pie. I watched as my friend's parents got laid off and lost their homes. The restlessness in my spirit prompted an inquiry into how we define success.

In 2015 I sat down with my childhood friend and world-renowned artist Paul Columbus. Our conversation was a deep dive about life and one of his most fascinating painting, The Ego of Social Darwinism. Paul breaks down his inspiration, how we're living in a world of paradoxes, and how we craft images of our ideal self.

Less than a year after leaving behind my career, I had achieved my dream. We had built a small empire that captured the heart of our city. Fans would drive hundreds of miles every week to partake in the mayhem. On the surface, everything looked perfect. Deep down I was broken and on the verge of hurting myself. This was the conversation that saved my life.

Natalie Christine's was largely responsible for changing the trajectory of my life. A few years ago she introduced me to the concept of yoga and yogic philosophy and I attribute here teaching to being an instrumental foundation for how I live today. This conversation explores her journey back to her native roots of Cuba, the struggles we face with attachment, and how we can reconnect with the realness that's so often lost on today's social platforms.

The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman is a cautionary tale about our innate desire for more. I walked into my bosses office and told him I was leaving the company in December 2011. To my surprise, this story was the parting advice he shared with me. After reflecting back on our conversation years later, here's what I discovered.

I sat down with my good friend DII in 2015 for this interview. It’s a tale of his untold journey into becoming a conscious rapper and how the Orlando community played a key role in his growth and development as an artist. We also discussed America’s addiction to violence and the artists who inspired DII’s style of music.