Explore every episode of the podcast The Calgary Sessions
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Zaran: Starting at 40, Nearly Going Broke and Building Again | 21 Oct 2026 | 01:52:59 | |
After more than two decades in the corporate food industry, Jason Zaran started his first business at 40, opening The Main Dish in Bridgeland with years of experience and plenty still to figure out. Years later, business losses, his parents' declining health and strain in his marriage arrived together, leaving him close to bankruptcy and needing a job while his wife, Pam, and a small team kept the remaining business going. In this chat, we talk about the early regrets that shaped his approach to work, the decisions and people that helped him rebuild, and knowing when to keep going or change the plan. Connect with Jason Zaran: LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jason-zaran-85494118 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jzaran/ Website: https://fitkitchen.ca/ Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Monica Arora: What You Miss When You Think in Black and White | 14 Oct 2026 | 01:20:32 | |
Monica Arora is the founder of Digital Monk Marketing in Calgary. Growing up, her parents encouraged her to ask questions and think for herself. Feeling comfortable being different took longer. We talk about finding people she connected with, taking her interest in understanding people into marketing, and building her business. We also get into trusting your gut and what a decision can give you even when it doesn't go the way you hoped. Monica likes the gray. Having to choose between this or that can mean missing what else is possible. That comes through when we talk about work-life balance and how hard she can be on herself. She kept the agency smaller when her kids were young so she could be there for them. As they've grown, she's had more room for the business. What worked then isn't necessarily what works now. Connect with Monica Arora: LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/marorabir Website: https://digitalmonkmarketing.com/ Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Ryan HK: The Many Lives Behind a 20-Year Photography Career | 07 Oct 2026 | 01:59:25 | |
Ryan HK is a Calgary photographer and director who spent more than 20 years freelancing before moving into an in-house role while continuing to take on selected creative work. His path started well before photography became a career. Ryan left university to pursue snowboarding, returned home when his dad became sick and eventually built a life behind the camera. After going through cancer treatment, he sold his house, lived in a truck camper and later moved onto a sailboat. The freedom he created eventually became isolating, and his mental health reached a point where something had to change. Ryan returned to Calgary and began rebuilding again through friendship, therapy, relationships and community. Connect with Ryan HK: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/RyanHK_ Website: https://www.ryanhk.com Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Yalda Kazemi: Postpartum Psychosis Changed the Life She Was Building | 30 Sep 2026 | 01:51:49 | |
Yalda Kazemi is the founder of Yalda Kazemi Consulting Inc., a policy, ethics and compliance consultant, workplace mental-health educator and author of Unapologetic Truths. Born in Iran, raised partly in Italy and arriving in Calgary at nine, Yalda’s early life was shaped by displacement, family responsibility and the belief that hard work could carry her through anything. That mindset helped her build an education and career she loved. Then postpartum depression, anxiety and psychosis became something she could not outwork. Yalda speaks about resisting treatment, hospitalization, cultural stigma, returning to work and the long road back to herself. Her recovery led to writing and advocacy, but also to a different understanding of strength: knowing when survival requires accepting help. Connect with Yalda Kazemi: LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/yaldakazemi Website: https://www.yaldakazemi.com/ Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Rob Kerr: Building a Career You Love and Still Chasing More | 23 Sep 2026 | 01:35:00 | |
Rob Kerr spent years on Sportsnet 960 The Fan and calling NHL games, yet found himself wondering whether he should be further ahead. His broadcasting career began with volunteer television work in Fort McMurray while he was working in forestry. We talk about the pull to keep climbing, losing a dream job, burnout, and recognizing what he valued in work he once wanted to move beyond. His community work today, including Coach Santa, continues a commitment to giving back that began long before broadcasting. Connect with Rob Kerr: LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/rob-kerr-05753034 Website: https://robkerr.ca/ Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Hayden Mayeur: Building a Business While Competing for Team Canada | 16 Sep 2026 | 01:23:46 | |
Hayden Mayeur is a Team Canada long-track speed skater, two-time World Championship medalist and founder of Hayloft Cafe. He moved from Toronto to Calgary at 17 to pursue speed skating, switched from short track to long track and eventually competed for Canada internationally. His path included supporting himself through part-time work, recovering from burnout and learning that his strongest performances did not always fit what the sport’s systems expected to see. During COVID, Hayden started a mobile coffee business so he could control his working hours while training. What was meant to be a small side hustle grew into a private event company and eventually began creating flexible work opportunities for other Team Canada athletes. This conversation gets into sport, work, risk and what happens when something you built for yourself starts affecting more people than you expected. Connect with Hayden Mayeur: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hayden_mayeur Website: https://www.hayloftcafeyyc.ca Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Tammy Arseneau: Starting Over Without Starting From Scratch | 09 Sep 2026 | 01:15:13 | |
Tammy Arseneau is the founder of Cortical Consulting & Coaching and a former Suncor executive whose career has moved through leadership, organizational effectiveness, change and now entrepreneurship. Tammy grew up learning to figure things out early. She lost both parents young, worked to support herself, built a career with Irving Oil, lived and worked in New Zealand, raised three boys and eventually moved to Calgary, where she spent more than a decade at Suncor. For years, moving forward was simply what she did. When her time at Suncor ended, she finally had the space to slow down and ask a different question: what did she actually want to do next? We talk about identity outside of a job title, starting a business after a long corporate career, the difference between experience and certainty, and why her growing interest in neuroscience and human performance is changing how she thinks about leadership. Connect with Tammy Arseneau: LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/tammy-arseneau-mba Website: https://corticalconsultingcoaching.com/ Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Tina Mathas: Building the Life You Were Supposed to Want | 02 Sep 2026 | 01:35:04 | |
Tina Mathas has spent much of her career in technology, leadership, innovation and coaching. Today, she works fractionally with businesses and founders while also making more room for writing, music and creative work. She grew up in South Africa with Greek immigrant parents who taught her about hard work, service and entrepreneurship, but also gave her a clear idea of what a practical career should look like. That led Tina through university, tech, major transformation projects, IBM, ATB, consulting and several attempts to build something of her own. Along the way came motherhood, divorce, repeated burnout, concussions and several points where she questioned whether the life she was succeeding in was actually the life she wanted. We talk about inherited expectations, why Tina kept returning to corporate life, creativity in the age of AI, faith, fear, failure, asking for help and the values that now shape her decisions. At 51, she is still figuring out what comes next, but she is doing it with a much clearer sense of what she wants to make room for. Connect with Tina Mathas : LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/tina-mathas Website: https://www.tinamathas.com/ Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Deeter Schurig: When the Career You Built Stops Feeling Right | 26 Aug 2026 | 01:56:04 | |
Deeter Schurig is the President + CEO of cSPACE Projects in Calgary, but that was never the career he was working toward. He started in theatre, spent years as a stage designer, and eventually went back to school to study architecture. We talk about getting into the acting program he wanted and deciding not to pursue it, building a creative career that was finally gaining momentum, and then realizing he was being pulled somewhere else. That path eventually brought him back to Calgary, where a research project around the former King Edward School became much more than an academic exercise. Deeter also gets into the people who helped him see things differently, the times he changed direction and the times he needed to stay, becoming a parent, his thinking around stewardship, and how those seemingly separate parts of his life eventually came together in the work he does now. Connect with Deeter Schurig : LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/deeter-schurig-51209139 Website: https://cspacemardaloop.com/ Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Reed Shimozawa: A Life in Music Beyond the Record Deal | 19 Aug 2026 | 01:38:17 | |
Reed Shimozawa is a Calgary guitarist, songwriter and founding member of Zuckerbaby who now performs with Wide Mouth Mason and other Canadian artists. Reed grew up in Lethbridge in a Japanese Canadian family shaped by internment, farm work and the expectation that he would pursue a more traditional career. Music took him in another direction, from six-night-a-week bar bands to Calgary’s original music scene, a major-label record deal, MuchMusic and national touring. When the industry changed and Zuckerbaby’s momentum disappeared, Reed had to figure out who he was without the version of success he had spent years chasing. We talk about the rise and end of Zuckerbaby, the Calgary music scene of the 1990s, becoming a father, spending more than 20 years working in a guitar store, being laid off during COVID and finding his way back into music as a freelancer. Now 61, Reed reflects on ambition, identity, past mistakes and why the time he has left feels less like a countdown and more like an opportunity. Connect with Reed Shimozawa: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reed_guitar Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reed.shimozawa/ Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Tiffany Petite: From Self-Doubt to Building a Counseling Company | 12 Aug 2026 | 01:19:59 | |
Tiffany Petite is a Calgary therapist, Registered Clinical Social Worker, and co-founder of Virtuous Circle Counseling. She grew up without much confidence in what she might become, but the people and experiences around her kept expanding that picture. Social work gave her a place to belong, frontline mental health work gave her a sense of purpose, and job loss eventually pushed her toward building a counseling company with her wife. Tiffany talks about self-doubt, ambition in a helping profession, the emotional weight of caring for others, and the relationships that helped her grow into leadership. Connect with Tiffany Petite: Website: https://vccounselling.com/ LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/tnpetite Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Mandy Balak: Success, Survival Mode and Why More Was Never Enough | 05 Aug 2026 | 01:43:21 | |
Mandy Balak has spent more than a decade building businesses, communities, and experiences across Calgary. Behind that work was a much less visible story about pressure, grief, survival mode, and the belief that more work might eventually feel like enough. In this episode, Mandy talks about building Date Night YYC, launching Branded, creating spaces for people to belong, and what was happening underneath all that momentum. She also shares how 2020 forced everything to stop, why that pause changed the way she understood ambition, and how those experiences became the foundation for her book, Chasing Enough. We get into success, identity, community, and what can happen when the drive that helped build everything becomes hard to turn off. Connect with Mandy Balak: Website: https://mandybalak.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandybalak LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/mandybalak Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Evan Birch: What 20 Years in Emergency Dispatch Cost Him | 29 Jul 2026 | 02:37:21 | |
Evan Birch spent nearly 20 years in emergency dispatch, including roles with STARS and Calgary 911. He became the person who could stay calm, carry pressure, and help people through some of the worst moments of their lives. Over time, that ability came with a cost: panic attacks, sleeplessness, PTSD, and the realization that he had taught himself not to feel just to keep doing the job. In this conversation, Evan talks about hiding what was happening, trying to win at therapy, and the complicated role running played in his recovery. It gave him peace, but it also gave him somewhere to keep moving. We also get into KidSport, ultrarunning, identity, and what it looks like to build a life that is no longer defined by one job. Connect with Evan Birch: Website: https://ultrabirch.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ultrabirch LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/birchevan Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Louis-Julien Roy: What 20 Years of Building a Business Actually Looks Like | 22 Jul 2026 | 01:24:30 | |
Louis-Julien Roy moved west from Quebec in 1996 to climb and guide. What started with construction work, long days in the mountains, and a small sales territory eventually became Mountain Exposure, a Calgary-based business he has been building for more than 20 years. We talk about starting without a financial backup, learning how to grow through relationships, and why the business did not take off all at once. Louis also shares how his approach to goals, risk, mentorship, and responsibility changed as the company grew. This is a conversation about the steady work behind a business that lasts, and what it takes to build something that can eventually continue without you. Connect with Louis-Julien Roy: Website: https://www.mountainx.ca/ LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/louis-julien-roy-575b9538 Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Matt Gillespie: Joe Media and the Business of Creative Work | 15 Jul 2026 | 01:29:53 | |
Matt Gillespie is the President, CEO, and Executive Producer behind Joe Media Group, but his path into production started long before the company did. In this episode, Matt talks about growing up in Wetaskiwin, finding video through community television, getting into SAIT, building a network, and learning the business side of creative work through a lot of real-world trial and error. The conversation gets into business dips, partnerships, borrowing money to get started, buying out partners, acquiring V Strategies, and why Calgary has been the right size of city for the kind of work and life he has built. Episode 211 of The Calgary Sessions with Jeff Humphreys. Connect with Matt Gillespie: Website: https://joemedia.tv LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/matt-gillespie-9920b013 Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Colby Delorme: From Job Sites to Indigenous Business Leadership | 08 Jul 2026 | 02:25:19 | |
Colby Delorme is a Métis entrepreneur, President of Imagination Group of Companies, and co-founder of Influence Mentoring Society. In this episode, Colby talks about growing up in Winnipeg, moving to Calgary, and figuring out where he fit as a kid from different backgrounds in a city that felt very different from where he started. We talk about getting kicked out of high school, starting his first business at 18, working in construction, learning some hard lessons, and eventually building a career around Indigenous business, consulting, ceremonial tobacco, mentorship, and community. A big part of this conversation is also about his relationship with his mom, Dr. Marie Delorme, and how their work together shaped both the business and the way he thinks about responsibility, trust, and opportunity. Hosted by Jeff Humphreys. Connect with Colby Delorme: Website: https://imaginationgroup.ca LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/colby-delorme-cist%C3%AAm%C3%A2w-napio-icd-d-71212315 Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Danijel Slisko: From Commercial Painting to Marketing, Tech, and Magazines | 01 Jul 2026 | 01:13:07 | |
Danijel Slisko has been self-employed for almost 30 years, starting in commercial painting before building a wider path through Calgary construction, marketing, technology, and publishing. In this episode, Danijel talks about learning business from his parents, earning trust with demanding clients, using systems before they were common in the trades, selling the company, and moving into a new chapter built around people, magazines, and community. Connect with Danijel Slisko: Website: https://www.danijelslisko.com/ LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/danijel-sli%C5%A1ko-1639a61b Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danijel_slisko/ Connect with Jeff Humphreys: Website: https://www.jeffhumphreys.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffhumphreys TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffhumphreys_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhumphreysyyc Podcast Location & Production: Off Set Studios: https://www.offsetstudios.ca | |||
| Andrew Ferguson: How Kensington Wine Market Became a Whisky Destination | 24 Jun 2026 | 01:16:39 | |
Andrew Ferguson is the owner of Kensington Wine Market, but his story started long before he owned the shop. He began as the delivery driver. It was supposed to be a short-term job over Christmas, but he liked the people, the place, and the work enough to stay. Over time, he became known as the Scotch Guy, helped build Kensington Wine Market’s whisky reputation, and eventually took over the business. In this episode, Andrew and Jeff talk about growing up in Calgary, not having a clean path after school, becoming a young parent, finding his way inside a small independent shop, and learning how trust gets built over time. They also get into whisky, sales, supplier relationships, taking over an existing business, and why Andrew still wants the shop to feel personal, even as more of the world moves online. This is a conversation about Kensington Wine Market, but it is also about finding the right place, becoming useful, and building something slowly. Connect with Andrew Ferguson:
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| Chris Cederstrand: The Athlete Mindset That Helped Him Survive | 17 Jun 2026 | 01:55:34 | |
Chris Cederstrand is a former hockey player, firefighter, Team Canada sledge hockey player, public speaker, and founder of AMP Hockey in Calgary. In this episode, Chris shares the story of growing up in Saskatchewan hockey, leaving home young to chase the game, and having that part of his life taken away after a series of concussions. He also talks about becoming a firefighter, surviving a workplace accident that led to the amputation of his right leg, and the long process of rebuilding his life after everything changed. This conversation is not just about getting through hard things. It is about identity, recovery, family, chronic pain, PTSD, adaptive sport, and learning that the mindset that once helped you survive may also need to change. Chris speaks openly about the small wins that helped him move forward, the people who supported him, finding his way back to hockey through sledge hockey, and why pushing harder is not always the answer. At its core, this is a conversation about starting over when the old version of your life no longer fits. Connect with Chris Cederstrand:
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| Ann Zee: Fertility, Acupuncture, and Feeling Heard in Healthcare | EP206 | 10 Jun 2026 | 01:49:41 | |
Ann Zee is the founder and director of the Holistic Institute of Health and Fertility in Calgary, a clinic focused on fertility, acupuncture, women’s health, pregnancy, postnatal care, and perimenopause. In this episode, Ann shares the story behind the work, from growing up between countries and losing both parents young to finding music, struggling with gambling, discovering Traditional Chinese Medicine, and building a clinic shaped by kindness, trust, and patient care. We talk about what it means to feel seen, heard, and understood in healthcare, and how lived experience can shape the way someone builds, leads, and cares forpeople. Connect with Ann Zee:
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| Dan Owen: Building OCL Studios Without a Perfect Plan | 03 Jun 2026 | 01:09:57 | |
Dan Owen owns Owen Construction and OCL Studios, whichsounds like two completely different worlds until you hear the story. Dan started out playing drums in Calgary, then spent yearson the road with his band, playing bars, hauling gear, sleeping where they could, and trying to make it work. When the band ended, music basically disappeared from hislife for a long time. He went into construction, started Owen Construction, and built a real business from the ground up. Years later, music came back. What started as an idea to finally record with his old bandturned into OCL Studios, a recording studio just outside Calgary that has become part of the city’s music community. In this episode, Dan talks about the old touring days, starting a construction business, building OCL Studios, getting the business assumptions wrong, and realizing the return on the studio was never just about money. It’s a conversation about risk, music, Calgary, community, family, and building something before you fully know what it’s going to become. Connect with Dan Owen:
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| A Life Shaped by Arts and Culture with Alex Sarian | 27 May 2026 | 01:17:14 | |
In this episode of The Calgary Sessions, Alex talks about growing up in Buenos Aires, finding theatre as a young person, moving to New York, studying arts education, working at Lincoln Center, and eventually making his way to Calgary. Alex is the author of The Audacity of Relevance and the President and CEO of Werklund Centre, formerly Arts Commons. We talk about why the arts mattered to him early on, how culture can help people find where they fit, and why access to those experiences still matters. This one also gets into Calgary, city-building, cultural spaces, leadership, and the difference between building something impressive and building something people actually feel connected to. Alex has a big role in the city, but the better story is how he got here and why the work matters to him. Connect with Alex Sarian:
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| What Parents Need to Know About Abuse in Youth Sport | Kim Shore | 20 May 2026 | 02:01:38 | |
Kim Shore is a safe sport advocate, former gymnast, speaker, writer, and mother. In this episode, Kim shares her story of growing up in gymnastics, moving to Calgary as a young athlete, competing at a high level, and later realizing how much harm had been normalized inside the sport. The conversation follows her path from athlete to parent to advocate. When her own daughter entered gymnastics, Kim started seeing familiar patterns return, which led her into safe sport advocacy, board work, survivor support, and national conversations about accountability in Canadian sport. This is a conversation about youth sport, athlete safety, coaching culture, parenting young athletes, institutional responsibility, and the difficult balance of still believing in sport while pushing it to become safer. It is not an anti-sport conversation. It is about protecting what sport can be when kids are treated with care, dignity, and accountability. Connect with Kim Shore:
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| Paul Boucher : Building a Voiceover Career Without a Plan | 13 May 2026 | 02:11:22 | |
Paul Boucher is a Calgary-based bilingual voice actor andnarrator whose career has moved through radio, corporate narration, eLearning, commercials, and voiceover work for clients around the world. In this episode, Paul shares the story of building a creative career without a clean plan. He talks about growing up in Northern Ontario, learning English through encyclopedias, finding his way into radio as a teenager, moving through different markets across Canada, and eventually building a voiceover career in Calgary. The conversation moves through language, identity, timing,humility, fatherhood, freelance work, AI in voiceover, and the strange moments that only make sense when you look back. It is a grounded look at how a career can be shaped by skill, luck, relationships, and the people who help you understand what you are actually good at. Connect with Paul Boucher:
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| Karly Jacobsen: From Nursing to Building a Beverage Company | 06 May 2026 | 01:12:02 | |
Karly Jacobsen went from working hospital shifts to helping build a beverage company with her brother. After a hiking accident pulled her out of nursing, she stepped into the early days of Rviita, a Calgary-based better-for-you energy drink company, and started helping build the business from the ground up. We get into family business, retail, customer connection, storytelling, and what it actually takes to keep building when there is no clear roadmap. Connect with Karly Jacobsen:
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| Rob Sawchuk: Grief, Music, and Finding What Fits | 29 Apr 2026 | 01:29:27 | |
Rob Sawchuk returns to The Calgary Sessions as the first repeat guest on the show, and this conversation carries a lot more than the episode 200 milestone. Jeff and Rob talk about what changed over the past six years, from building for other people and working out of the basement to opening Turkey & Pistols, stepping further into music, and trying to build a life that actually fits. It’s a conversation about grief, caregiving, creative risk, community, and what happens when the thing that used to sit on the side starts becoming the path that makes the most sense. Connect with Rob Sawchuk:
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| Lana Rogers: Building a Business Without the Usual Playbook | 22 Apr 2026 | 01:21:13 | |
Lana Rogers is the founder of Gentle Lion Communications, but this conversation is about a lot more than marketing. We talk about burnout, self-awareness, hospitality, accidental entrepreneurship, and what it looks like to build a business without following the usual blueprint. Lana shares how years of working in restaurants shaped the way she reads people, creates experiences, and leads a team. She also talks openly about hitting a wall, learning her own burnout signs, and doing the work to understand herself better. There’s also a thread running through this episode around confidence, sobriety, karaoke, and community. It sounds random at first, but it actually says a lot about how people change, what aliveness feels like, and how new versions of ourselves show up. Connect with Lana Rogers:
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| April Brown on Burnout, Clarity, and Building Rootbar | 15 Apr 2026 | 01:08:42 | |
April Brown is the founder of Rootbar, but this conversation is about more than building a salon brand. We talk about the discipline that shaped her early, from competitive soccer to starting in the hair industry at a young age, and how that same drive carried into entrepreneurship. April opens up about burnout, divorce, COVID as a reset, and the time and space she needed to get clear on what she actually wanted. That clarity became the foundation for Rootbar. This episode gets into ambition, identity, leadership, mentorship, and the pressure a lot of driven people put on themselves as they grow. It is a conversation about knowing your why, building with intention, and learning that slowing down does not always mean falling behind. Sometimes it is the thing that helps you lead better and make better decisions. We also talk about company culture, developing people, franchising, motherhood, and what it takes to build something that feels aligned, sustainable, and worth the effort. Connect with April Brown:
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| Jill Dewes: Turning an Unemployable Degree Into a Creative Career | 08 Apr 2026 | 01:25:06 | |
Jill Dewes spent years in the high-stakes world of advertising,eventually becoming a partner at Daughter Creative. But long before the big brand launches and the 80-hour work weeks, she was a student with a degree in Ancient Greek history—a move she admits was "really unemployable" at the time. In this episode, Jill shares the breaking point that brought her to Calgary. After a decade of burnout in New Zealand, a home invasion served as the final straw that led her and her husband to move to the prairies sight-unseen. Since arriving in 2010, she has become a fixture in the local creative scene. During her nine years at Daughter Creative, Jill was part of theleadership team during the agency's work on major projects like the "Blue Sky City" brand, the Calgary Zoo, and Glenbow.However, she recently realized she had moved too far away from the creative work she actually loved. She didn’t want to be the "millstone" slowing the agency down, so she chose a "conscious uncoupling" from her partnershipto start her own consultancy, Nice One. We talk about:
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| Adrian Stimson: From Tribal Councilor to the Art Studio | 01 Apr 2026 | 01:36:05 | |
What makes a person walk away from a decade of stability in tribal politics to start over as a "starving student" at 40? In this episode of The Calgary Sessions, Adrian Stimson shares the grit it takes to move from a position of political influence into the uncertainty of an art studio. We dig into Adrian’s "Tickle, Slap, and Hug" approach—his unique way of using humor to bring people into some of the toughest conversations in our culture. From facing a gauntlet of racism in rural Alberta schools to being embedded with Canadian troops in Afghanistan, this conversation is about the search for a true vocation and the resilience required to find it. In this episode, we talk about:
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| Burn the Boats: Total Commitment with Tommy Wheeldon Jr. | 25 Mar 2026 | 01:29:52 | |
What does it actually take to go "all in" on a vision? Tommy Wheeldon Jr., the Head Coach and GM of Cavalry FC, joins the show to share the story behind the "Burn the Boats" mentality that helped him build a professional soccer club in Calgary from a blank canvas. This isn’t your typical sports interview. Tommy dives into thehuman side of leadership, discussing how his "nomadic" childhood taught him to find comfort in uncomfortable situations and why he believes every high-performer needs to schedule time for "play" to stay sharp. We also explore the "Sunrise and Sunset" of a career—a powerful framework for navigating transitions and helping people find their purpose long after the game (or the job) is over. In this episode, we talk about:
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| "Never Be the Smartest Man in the Room" | Peter Izzo | 18 Mar 2026 | 01:41:11 | |
What does it actually take to sustain a family legacy withoutlosing your own identity? In this episode, Peter Izzo (President of CappuccinoKing) joins Jeff Humphreys to pull back the curtain on the reality of the immigrant work ethic and the transition of a multi-generational Calgary brand. Peter shares the unfiltered stories of his upbringing—from working the railroad night shift while trying to finish high school, to being 16 years old and driving himself to junior high because he was "out ofsync" with his peers. He also opens up about the difficult ultimatum from hisfather that forced him to choose between his own independence and taking the business out of the family basement to build what it is today. Inside the conversation:
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| Vince Fowler: From Paratrooper to Coaching CEOs | 11 Mar 2026 | 02:20:18 | |
In this episode of The Calgary Sessions, Jeff sits down with Vince Fowler, a performance coach who works with CEOs and entrepreneurs across North America. His work focuses on understanding human behaviour, the decisions leaders make under pressure, and the psychological patterns that shape leadership and impact. Vince shares the story behind his path, beginning with a difficult upbringing and the moment in Grade 6 when he decided he wanted to become a Canadian paratrooper. That early decision shaped his identity, discipline, and relationship with adversity. Years later, after navigating high-performance environments and personal challenges, he began exploring the deeper psychological work required to understand behaviour, resilience, and personal growth. The conversation explores the connection between military mindset and entrepreneurship, why understanding human behaviour matters for leadership, and how high-performing people often have to rebuild themselves after intense periods of achievement. Jeff and Vince also discuss discipline, identity, decision-making, and what it means to truly embrace the difficult parts of life in order to move forward. Connect with Vince Fowler:
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| Michelle Morgan: Acting, Directing and Creative Identity | 04 Mar 2026 | 01:22:15 | |
Michelle Morgan has spent nearly two decades working as an actor, including a long run on Heartland, and has more recently stepped into directing. In this conversation, we look at what it actually means to build a creative career over time. She talks about nearly choosing a different path early on, how her confidence has shifted between her 30s and 40s, and whyintuition has become central to how she makes decisions. We discuss moving from performer to director, managing energy on set, and the kind of inner work that allows creative careers to last. If you’re navigating your own creative path, this conversation offers an honest look at longevity, identity, and staying inthe work without forcing it. Connect with Michelle Morgan:
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| Pete Estabrooks: How Fitness Replaced Addiction and Reshaped His Life | 25 Feb 2026 | 01:56:14 | |
Pete Estabrooks has been part of Calgary’s fitness culture for decades, but his story didn’t begin in a gym. As a teenager, he was arrested for armed robbery and spent time in jail. In this episode, Pete shares how boxing became structure, how running replaced destructive highs, and how discipline slowly rebuilt his identity over time. We talk about responsibility, aging, addiction, and what it actually takes to change direction. Now in his 60s, Pete is still racing, still competing, and still training. This is a conversation about consequences, daily choices, and what happens when someone commits to rebuilding their life one habit at a time. Connect with Pete Estabrooks:
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| Drezus on Finding His Voice Through Hip Hop and Culture | Ep 190 | 18 Feb 2026 | 01:36:40 | |
Drezus is a Plains Cree hip hop artist and storyteller whose work is rooted in identity, resilience and culture. We talked about what it was like growing up feeling different, carrying anger, and not really knowing where to put it. Hip hop became the place where he figured out how to speak. Not just through music, but through understanding who he was. He’s honest about masculinity, fear, ceremony and the work of healing. Nothing polished. Just the reality of shifting from reacting to life to taking responsibility for it. We also get into what it means to carry your roots publicly, how culture shapes confidence, and how success eventually turns into service. It’s less about music and more about what happens when you stop hiding who you are. Connect with Drezus: Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Rob McLeod: Starting Late, Failing Often, and Staying With It | Ep 189 | 11 Feb 2026 | 01:21:55 | |
In this episode of The Calgary Sessions, I sit down with Rob McLeod, also known as Frisbee Rob. Rob didn’t find his path early. He didn’t discover frisbee until after high school, and long before it became his work, teaching and helping others were already part of who he was. We talk about what it’s like to grow into something over time, without a clear plan or early certainty. Rob also opens up about losing his mom at 18, and how that kind of loss doesn’t always show up as a dramatic turning point. Sometimes it quietly shapes how deeply someone commits to their work, and how they define success for themselves. We spend time on failure too. Not as a lesson, but as a reality. Rob shares what it means to attempt something again and again without immediate results, and how repetition, patience, and self-awareness matter more than talent or recognition. This conversation also touches on the gap between visibility and value. World records and attention don’t always translate into stability, and Rob reflects honestly on what it takes to build something that lasts. At its core, this episode is about starting later than expected, questioning your own motivations, and choosing to play the long game. Connect with ”Frisbee Rob” McLeod: Connect with Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Dane Thorogood: The Hard Reset Behind Templ Brewing and a Steadier Life | Ep 188 | 04 Feb 2026 | 01:06:06 | |
Templ Brewing co-founder Dane Thorogood shares the hard reset that changed how he shows up at work and at home. His path runs through high-performance sport, family business, and addiction, then into the day-to-day habits that keep him grounded. On the business side, we talk about learning sales through reps, building a scrappy system with people you trust, and growing in the non-alcoholic space without losing the basics. Connect with Dane Thorogood: Connect with Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Felipe Alberto Paredes-Canevari: Música Criolla and Commercial Litigation | Ep 187 | 27 Jan 2026 | 01:53:37 | |
Felipe Alberto Paredes-Canevari performs Peruvian musica criolla and works in civil litigation. This conversation is about standards. The kind that come from taking the work seriously, whether you are carrying someone’s legal problem or stepping on stage with a tradition that has real history behind it. Felipe talks about identity as something shaped by lineage and lived experience, not a story you invent on demand. We get into what clarity actually costs, why preparation is a form of respect, and why “balance” is not the word when two serious crafts are involved. It is a grounded look at craft, responsibility, and what it means to stay honest when the room is paying attention. Connect with our guest, Felipe Alberto: Connect with Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Mike Peace: Building Stability Through Tattooing, Cycling, and Sobriety | 21 Jan 2026 | 01:09:34 | |
In this episode of The Calgary Sessions, I sit down with Mike Peace. Mike talks about growing up after immigrating as a kid, experiencing trauma early, and leaving school sooner than expected. He shares how restaurant work led him into tattoo shops, what it was like to learn the craft by watching rather than being taught, and how tattooing has changed over the years. We talk about opening and running a shop, the emotional weight that comes with client-facing work, and the kind of conversations that happen in a tattoo chair. Mike also speaks openly about alcohol addiction, choosing sobriety, and why cycling became a necessary replacement structure in his life. Movement, routine, and showing up consistently play a big role in how he manages his mental health. There’s also time spent on community within tattoo culture, working alongside his son, and what it looks like to build a steady life without chasing anything bigger than what’s in front of you. Connect with our guest, Mike Peace: Connect with Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Shawn Freeman: Building Businesses That Last on Relationships | 14 Jan 2026 | 01:25:05 | |
Some businesses grow fast and disappear. Others last through exits, downturns, and restarts. In this episode, Shawn Freeman talks about why relationships are the real structure holding a business together. Not as a value statement, but as something tested through building companies, selling one, stepping away, and starting again. The conversation moves through how trust compounds quietly over time, why repeated friction is often a warning rather than a challenge, and how founders learn to make decisions without forcing outcomes. Shawn shares how confidence, energy, and alignment show up in very practical ways, even for leaders who think analytically. Rather than focusing on tactics or growth strategies, this episode sits with how people think once they’ve seen businesses succeed and fail up close. It’s a reflection on why people follow people, why impact outlasts metrics, and why the businesses that endure are usually built on relationships long before they are built on plans. Connect with our guest, Shawn Freeman: Connect with Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Dr. Laura: Fear, Risk, and Trusting the Next Step Without Guarantees | 07 Jan 2026 | 01:20:04 | |
Fear shows up quietly. It shapes how we make decisions, how we measure progress, and how long we stay in situations that no longer feel right. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett, an organizational psychologist, researcher, and author, to talk about what happens when logic, effort, and planning stop being enough on their own. We explore why life can start to feel like a constant gap, where the horizon keeps moving and progress never quite feels satisfying. Why comparison, noise, and fear distort how we see ourselves and our work. And why intentionally looking back at what you’ve already built is often the missing piece for clarity and fulfillment. Dr. Laura also shares how trust, intention, and timing play a role in moving forward when certainty isn’t available. Not as blind optimism, but as a grounded way of taking the next step with purpose, support, and self-awareness. We talk about fear and risk, entrepreneurship and mindset, and the difference between pushing harder and aligning your energy with work that actually adds value. The conversation also moves into leadership and systems. Why toxic workplaces often persist through avoidance and silence. What compassionate leadership actually looks like in practice. And why honest, difficult conversations are essential for healthy teams and long-term trust. This is a thoughtful, practical conversation about navigating uncertainty, making grounded decisions without guarantees, and learning how to move forward when fear tries to keep you still. Connect with our guest, Dr. Laura: Connect with Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Michael Chiasson: Carrying On Without Knowing What Comes Next | 17 Dec 2025 | 01:30:48 | |
Life doesn’t usually offer clarity when you need it. In this episode, reflects on what it means to keep moving forward through uncertainty. From early responsibility and family instability to becoming a husband, father, and leader while still figuring things out, his story unfolds without clean timelines or clear answers. Michael is a Canadian speaker, author, and founder whose work has grown out of lived experience rather than strategy. This conversation explores presence without control, responsibility before readiness, and how meaning often shows up later than the moments that shape us. It’s a grounded look at continuing on, not because you’re certain, but because life keeps going. Connect with our guest, Michael Chiasson: Follow Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Cassie Hawrysh: Rebuilding After Real Disappointments | 10 Dec 2025 | 01:44:51 | |
Cassie Hawrysh has lived most of her life in high pressure environments. She grew up around adults, learned responsibility early, and carried that into sport where effort and expectations shaped almost everything she did. When she became one of the top skeleton athletes in the world, the drive that pushed her forwardalso became the thing she had to untangle. This episode looks at what happens when hard work does not lead to the outcome you imagined, and how a person rebuilds when they have to let go of the identity they carried for years. Cassie talks about the pull of ambition, the weight of almost moments, and the slow process of figuring out who she was outside of performance. It is a grounded conversation about pressure, transition, and the reality of starting again in your thirties.Cassie’s story is shaped by effort, honesty, and the long path toward a lifethat finally feels like her own. Connect with our guest, Cassie Hawrysh: Follow Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Teika Hudson: Choosing a Life Built on Purpose and Creative Discipline | 03 Dec 2025 | 01:21:58 | |
Some people grow up fast because life demands it. Teika did. She carried responsibility early and learned to pay attention young. That awareness shaped how she understood people, how she stayed steady in difficult moments, and howshe found confidence in structure and discipline long before tattooing entered her life. This episode gets into the experiences that shaped her thinking. The pressure of growing up early. The instinct to read a room because you have to. The discipline built through martial arts. The years spent apprenticing while raising a kid. And how tattooing eventually became the place where all of those traits made sense together. Tattooing is her craft, but the story runs wider. It connects with anyone who has had to grow up early, carry more than people realized, or build their identity through steady work and honest self-understanding. Connect with our guest, Teika Hudson: Follow Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Nic Beique: Success, Serendipity, and the Road That Shapes You | 26 Nov 2025 | 01:23:16 | |
Success rarely comes from a straight line. Nic Beique built Helcim into one of Canada’s most respected fintech companies, but the road that shaped him was full oftiming, luck, perseverance, and the kind of complicated lessons that make you who you are. In this episode, Nic talks openly about the parts of growth people don’t see. The doubt that shows up at every level. The moments where confidence fades. The long stretches where you question your path. And the unexpected breaks that only appear after you keep going longer than you thought you could. This conversation is for anyone trying to build something real.Founders, creators, young professionals, and people figuring out the next step in their careers. If you’re navigating uncertainty, wrestling with imposter thoughts, or trying to trust your path, Nic’s story gives you something to hold on to. Simple, honest insight from someone who has lived every turn of the journey. Connect with our guest, Nic Beique: Follow Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Laura Naaykens: From Identity Crisis to "Accidental" Founder | 19 Nov 2025 | 01:11:53 | |
What if you don't need a "5-year plan" to be successful? We're all pressured to find our one "passion" and follow a perfect, linear path. But what if that's not how the most interesting careers are built? Laura Naaykens is a former NCAA athlete who, after an injury, found herself in a complete identity crisis. She didn't have a grand plan; she just started... figuring it out. Her journey is a playbook for "accidental" success, showing how she pivoted from sports to "accidentally" founding a data science firm, not by following a passion, but by saying "yes" to problems she didn't know how to solve and then getting good at them. It’s a conversation about the power of self-awareness, why competence is more valuable than passion, and how to build a life on your own terms. Connect with our guest,Laura Naaykens: Follow Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Moment 14: A Practical Guide to Manifestation | 12 Nov 2025 | 00:10:36 | |
Manifestation isn't just "thinking positive." It can be a practical, daily tool, as simple as a specific morning routine—from a cold plunge to how you write in a journal—that you use to run your life and business. These insights come from Brent Boucher, a Calgary entrepreneur whose story is a perfect example of what I call "grey thinking". He built his business from a place of deep personal struggle and uses these tools to navigate the real-world emotional "peaks and valleys" of running a company. This is just one part of a much larger conversation. Hear Brent Boucher's full story on The Calgary Sessions podcast (Episode 178). Listen to the full episode Connect with our guest, Brent Boucher: Follow Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Brent Boucher: Finding Your Strength in Uncomfortable Places | 05 Nov 2025 | 01:05:27 | |
How do you build a life when your childhood is defined by instability? Brent Boucher is a Calgary entrepreneur who built a successful motorcycle shop and finance company from scratch. But his journey started in a place of deep trauma, navigating family mental health crises and leaving school in Grade 11 just to pay the bills. In this conversation, Brent shares the unconventional origin story of his career (which involves a stolen dirt bike) and his core philosophy: you have to seek discomfort to perform at your best. This is a raw conversation about prioritizing grit over talent and building a life by "feeling the end picture" rather than following a rigid plan. Follow The Calgary Sessions podcast for more stories like this. Connect with our guest, Brent Boucher: Follow Jeff Humphreys Podcast Location & Production: | |||
| Moment 13: How to Rebuild Your Life After a Setback | Dr. Matt Brown | 29 Oct 2025 | 00:12:41 | |
Dr. Matt Brown had his entire life planned: pro football, then medical school. He details the "helmet to helmet" hit that ended his career and the "messy" mental health transition that followed. He discusses the stigma that kept him from seeking help and the pivotal moment he sat on the field and asked, "Who am I without football?"—and heard "deafening... silence." Ep177 Guest: Dr. Matt Brown, Mental Performance Coach Host: Jeff Humphreys Where to Connect:
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