Tara Defrancisco (@taradefrancisco) is the Founder of The Nest Theatre & an Actor as well as Improv Comedian with her show 'HERE: The (Improvised) Musical'.

Tara’s a seasoned vet in the world of improv comedy, along with her worldwide traveling show “HERE The Improvised Musical”, and lately, she’s become your resident positive pep-talker over on instagram and TikTok. There’s a real good chance you’ve seen one of her videos shared on social. If you’re into comedy, creative spaces, or just want a dose of genuine inspiration, this one’s for you!

Tara shares her journey from finding her love for improv, really getting started with comedy in Chicago to performing all over the world, and how that led to building a home for improv right here in Columbus with The Nest. Within that we cover the unique magic of improv, the way it only exists in the moment, how it teaches people to trust themselves, and why even the “bad” shows have value. We also dive into the importance of community, why people aren’t connecting with their neighbors like they used to, practices to get better at staying connected with friends in a fast-paced world, and building inclusive creative spaces for communities.

And of course, we get into some deeper conversations about defining success in the arts. Tara reminds us that there’s no single path, whether you’re doing something professionally or just for the love of it, the journey is valid!

This episode has plenty of those “oh wow, I needed to hear that” moments. Whether you’re a performer, a creative, or just someone looking for more connection in your life, Tara’s story and perspective is one you don’t want to miss!

---THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY---

PromoWest Productions - @promowestlive

For all upcoming shows & event info of who's coming through Columbus, OH, visit promowestlive.com  or to purchase tickets directly, visit AXS.com

 River & Rich - @riverandrich

Located in the Franklinton Arts District of Columbus, OH, River & Rich brings together quality apartments, desirable amenities, and a vibrant artistic community. They offer guided and self-guided tours, so go view an apartment anytime! Visit their website at liveriverandrich.com - Use the code 'WYDHPOD' for up to HALF OFF your admin fee!

The Scatter Joy Project - @thescatterjoyproject

The Scatter Joy Project is a local Columbus nonprofit focused on fighting for mental health. They aim to make mental health care accessible and affordable for everyone. They sell apparel with 100% of the profits funding their crisis text line, their network to help people find the mental health help they need, and their very own therapy fund. So whether you're looking to get help or want to donate to help support the cause, Scatter Joy is right for you. Find more info at www.thescatterjoyproject.com

Makers Social - @makers.social

Maker's Social is a DIY Project Bar located in the Franklinton Arts District of Columbus, OH! To book a reservation, go to makerscolumbus.com and enter “WYDH” in the notes of your checkout for $10 off!

Nickey Winkelman (@nickeywink) is a Comedian based in Columbus, OH.

In this episode, I sit down with comedian Nickey Winkelman to talk about her story and journey in stand-up, the evolving comedy scene, and the challenges of balancing creative work with personal life. We also dive into her early days of getting started in comedy, the pressure of social media in today’s entertainment industry, and the fine line between self-confidence and societal expectations of success, and a lot of great chat around the feeling of gratitude for what we've already accomplished rather than always moving our goalposts. Nickey shares her perspective on working clean in comedy, the impact of the pandemic on mental health conversations, and how she navigates parenting while pursuing her passions. It’s an honest and insightful look at what it really means to chase a creative dream on your own terms, and truly just a great down to Earth conversation I'm excited to share! 

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY:

PromoWest Productions - @promowestlive

For all upcoming shows & event info of who's coming through Columbus, OH, visit promowestlive.com  or to purchase tickets directly, visit AXS.com

Makers Social - @makers.social

Maker's Social is a DIY Project Bar located in the Franklinton Arts District of Columbus, OH!

To book a reservation, go to makerscolumbus.com enter “WYDH” in the notes of your checkout for $10 off!

Lacie Evans (@laciemevans) is an Entrepreneur, Influencer, Content Creator and badass cowgirl!

This week is a sit down with Lacie Evans, someone who, from the moment she walked in the studio door, it was like we had been friends for years! We dig into Lacie's story of living the farm life and how she's now turned that into an awesome online presence and blossoming career! We uncover how she originally started "creating content" just for the sake of sharing her daily farm life wih her animals, how that connected with people and really took off in growth, the weird hate that having a large following brings (and how she deals with it), turning it all into awsome business opportunities, including the creation of her new brand that is COMING VERY SOON! 👀 All that and a lottttttt more. So saddle up and dive in! 

-----THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY-----

PromoWest Productions - @promowestlive

For all upcoming shows & event info of who's coming through Columbus, OH, visit promowestlive.com  or to purchase tickets directly, visit AXS.com

Queerencia - @queerencia.co 

Queerencia is LGBTQ+ lifestyle & apparel brand that aims to support the queer community by empowering all people within it, to embrace their true identity and express themselves boldly and proudly, while also at the same time aiming to create more accessibility to queer history and queer culture. 

Hop to their website to learn more or make a purchase and support at Queerencia.co

Makers Social - @makers.social

Maker's Social is a DIY Project Bar located in the Franklinton Arts District of Columbus, OH!

To book a reservation, go to makerscolumbus.com enter “WYDH” in the notes of your checkout for $10 off!

Mikey Liesner is a Videographer, Documentarian, and co-host of The Strange Road Podcast.

This one gets chalked up into that column of episodes that I can simply describe as FUN. 

As we dive into Mikey's story of navigating a career in video, we really dig into how it all started when he was young, due to him wanting to grab a camera to travel the world and document the strange and unusual. This conversation is filled with talking about fun things like ancient sites like the serpent mound here in Ohio, lost civilizations, wild conspiracies, aliens, ghosts, cryptids and a bunch of other stuff that I love but don’t ever get to talk about on this show. As we weave in and out of paranormal talk, we also cover things battling creative burnout and fighting for motivation to chase goals and get things accomplished, projects he still wants to achieve, some of the amazing people he's met in his travels, and a few wildly interesting experiences to go with it all. The best way I can explain this one, is just flat out fun! 

Follow The Strange Road Podcast HERE 

WATCH this episode on Youtube!

-----THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY-----

H0M Sound Baths - @homsoundbaths

Need a moment of deep rest and renewal? Join hOm for their experiential sound baths, where music, atmosphere, and community come together. Every full moon and new moon, hOm creates immersive journeys of sound, featuring crystal singing bowls, gongs, piano, cello, violin, singers, electronic atmospheres, and much more. hOm is also a space of connection. A space to go to connect deeper with ourselves and with the people around us.

PromoWest Productions - @promowestlive

For all upcoming shows & event info of who's coming through Columbus, OH, visit promowestlive.com  or to purchase tickets directly, visit AXS.com

Sean Mackowski (@sean2damax) is an Entrepreneur, Musician and most recently Founder of guitar pedal company, Tallon Electric.

After finding and following a passion for music at a young age that lead him into the touring worlds in bands like My Ticket Home, Attack Attack! and Truslow, Sean also noticed that while he was involved in many of these creative endeavours, his real knack was an attention to details and problem solving. As we dig into his story of going from the music world to the business world, we dig into the stories of transitions between the few bands he's been in, always seeing himself as the role of "supportive player" and enjoying the systems behind what makes success rather than the spotlight itself, his approach at being driven less by creative and more by solutions, navigating the launch (and closing) of a few different companies, how it all lead to a passion for building guitar pedals and his newest brand Tallon + a bunch more! 

FOLLOW @tallonelectric here 

-----THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY-----

PromoWest Productions - @promowestlive

For all upcoming shows & event info of who's coming through Columbus, OH, visit promowestlive.com  or to purchase tickets directly, visit AXS.com

Tyler Phillips (@typhillips7) is the head of Fan Culture and Development with the Columbus Crew.

Alright this week I have my second ever return guest, for a full second sit-down, as I’ve got my friend Tyler Phillips back on the show, for the first time since episode 10 back in 2020! So as you could probably guess, we had a lot to catch up on in both life and career. Where we last left off, Tyler was finding his footing in the creative marketing world as he worked for Pursuit, a brand based here in Columbus Ohio, but now he finds himself heading up fan culture and development and so many endeavors now with the Columbus Crew.

We dive into how that career shift happened, the story behind getting the job, what all he does with the Columbus Crew now, the ins and outs people don’t know about, his work with 2CentsFC, and of course we dig into personally how things have changed for him in the last 5 years. I mean folks a lot can happen in 5 years!

------THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY------

PromoWest Productions - @promowestlive

For all upcoming shows & event info of who's coming through Columbus, OH, visit promowestlive.com  or to purchase tickets directly, visit AXS.com

This week I sat down virtually with my friend Robert Teegarden (@rmtshoots) as we dive into his story of navigating the world of Video Production and creation. Whatever type of creative you may be, a guarantee there’s something that’ll click with you in this one!

As Robert and I chat all things within the creative world, he shares his story from entering the world of music and production, to working in licensing and royalties for Universal Music Group but then feeling stifled by corporate culture and ventured into the world of freelance. We cover the value we can all get from “side hustles” and learning from all the ups and downs that come with betting on yourself, insights on adapting to client needs but still finding ways to stay creatively fulfilled in your work, the importance of niching down and finding personal strengths within creative industries, the struggles of explaining creative value to clients and how to approach it, his “export everyday” mentality and the idea of chasing after our goals daily, and he opens up with some personal struggles and self-love issues that he’s never publicly shared before. All this + a lot more in what is a real rad conversation!

——THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY——

PromoWest Productions - @promowestlive For all upcoming shows & event info of who's coming through Columbus, OH, visit promowestlive.com or to purchase tickets directly, visit AXS.com

This week I talk to Dr. Eugene K. Choi who is a Performance and Business Coach, but he does it all from a Neuroscience-Based background.

So I’ve never had a guest quite like Eugene on this show before, and it was a blast to get to know him and how he got started in all that he does. He shares how he went from working in the pharmaceutical world, to chasing a dream of Filmmaking to then bringing things full circle when he decided to take all that he had learned about the brain and neuroscience, and apply that to the creative and entrepreneurial world he then found himself in. He shares a lot of great stuff on how to use brain science to  improve our performance, and achieve your goals, become more present, take better action and tons more. It’s a really awesome story and I promise you, Eugene shares a lot of advice that I’ve never quite had here on the show before. This one’s packed with a LOT of great stuff and honestly, I was just trying to keep up with Eugene in this one! 

We barely scratched the surface of Eugene's knowledge in this one, so if you want more, make sure to llisten to his podcast The Neurohacking Podcast! 

-----THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY-----

PromoWest Productions - @promowestlive

For all upcoming shows & event info of who's coming through Columbus, OH, visit promowestlive.com  or to purchase tickets directly, visit AXS.com

Looking for a concert to go to?

• Lauren Mayberry at Newport Music Hall on February 9th 
• Badfish – A Tribute to Sublime at Newport Music Hall on February 12th 
• Father John Misty at KEMBA Live! on February 17th and
• Dropkick Murphys at KEMBA Live! on Friday, February 28th 

We're going back into the WYDH vault this week as I dig up what was originally E74, and my conversation with Simi Botic, Intuitive Eating Counselor, Health Coach and Founder of Unmeasured.

This conversation with Simi has remained one of my favorites since the moment it happened. As she shares her story of searching for body positivity and overcoming a difficult relationship with food, and how that lead to the creation of online Barre-Class studio Unmeasured, she shares SO much in the way of; Dealing with and overcoming perfectionism, learning self love, being our own worst critics, body image struggles and learning to love your body and habits & SO much more! 

If you want to learn more about Unmeasured, visit www.movementunmeasured.com

-----THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY-----

PromoWest Productions - @promowestlive

For all upcoming shows & event info of who's coming through Columbus, OH, visit promowestlive.com  or to purchase tickets directly, visit AXS.com

Queerencia - @queerencia.co 

Queerencia is LGBTQ+ lifestyle & apparel brand that aims to support the queer community by empowering all people within it, to embrace their true identity and express themselves boldly and proudly, while also at the same time aiming to create more accessibility to queer history and queer culture. 

Hop to their website to learn more or make a purchase and support at Queerencia.co

Makers Social - @makers.social

Maker's Social is a DIY Project Bar located in the Franklinton Arts District of Columbus, OH! To book a reservation, go to makerscolumbus.com enter “WYDH” in the notes of your checkout for $10 off!

In this episode, I sit down with Jon Paton, the founder of Fit Fresh, a meal prep company that’s doing way more than just feeding people, it’s making a difference! Jon shares his story of how Fit Fresh came to be,and the power of his "why" behind it all in becoming a business that thrives on positivity and community impact.

You'll leave this episode 100% wanting to be friend's with Jon and wanting to eat Fit Fresh. As we dive into Jon's journey of entrepreneurship, he shares how he turned stress and burnout into a mission to help others, talks the importance of finding balance in life, listening to your instincts, and we really talk a lot on creating something that genuinely brings value to others.

We talk a lot about how Fit Fresh wasn’t just about food, but about making people’s lives easier and better. We discuss the role of empathy in business, why putting people first always pays off, and how staying connected to your "why" keeps you grounded.

This ones a new favorite episode for sure, and you'll find out why as Jon and I have a fun chat covering a TON of topics and have a blast doing it. This is an honest, uplifting conversation about food, business, and the power of making a difference, one meal at a time!

Check out Fit Fresh at www.fitfreshfast.com 

------THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY------

PromoWest Productions - @promowestlive

For all upcoming shows & event info of who's coming through Columbus, OH, visit promowestlive.com  or to purchase tickets directly, visit AXS.com

CrossFit Gahanna - @crossfitgahannaoh

CrossFit Gahanna is a gym built on community style fitness, focused on gym-goers of any and all skill levels. With the goal of getting better every day, there's options for everyone! Visit crossfitgahanna.com for more info.