Episode 21: Chris Schlichting
Also Humans
Chris Schlichting makes people laugh for a living. Both on stage and in a high school classroom. However, sitting in a hospital for three months with one of this newborn twins clinging to life was anything but funny.
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Episode 20: Darrin Fletcher
Also Humans
Newly married and making $800 a month in the minor leagues, Darrin Fletcher began to question the only thing he had ever known: baseball. After a miserable season, it was a seemingly chance encounter with the legendary Tommy Lasorda and Sandy Koufax that led Darrin to the big leagues and, eventually, to the All-Star Game.
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Episode 019: Talia (Hayward) Melton
Also Humans
Growing up as an orphan in Zambia, Talia (Hayward) Melton had no money, no opportunity and—of course—no parents. Bi-racial and bullied, her early years were difficult at best. But times have changed. Talia has a beautiful family of her own, limitless opportunities and enough money to make breathtaking art out of it.
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Episode 18: Chris Widlic
Also Humans
Super Bowls, Final Fours, the Olympics. Each is just another day at the office for Chris Widlic. And while he gets into them all for free, earning the right to work the world’s greatest sporting venues didn’t come cheap. This TV sportscaster has seen a lot. He has done a lot. And early on, it cost him a lot.
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Episode 017: DJ Step
Also Humans
As the guy in charge of mixing the soundtrack at professional sporting events, downtown clubs and corporate events, DJ Step has his fingers firmly on the pulse of today’s culture. He gets paid to be the life of the party but, for awhile, Step’s life was much more pity than it was party.
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Episode 016: Leigh Holt
Also Humans
Her job is to connect artists with audiences and audiences with artists…and Leigh Holt has done it incredibly well. Just ask Oprah and Lauren Daigle and more than a handful of others so powerful she can’t publicly talk about them. But beneath Leigh’s breathtaking success lies an ever-present fear of failure.
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Episode 015: Dr. Glenn Livingston
Also Humans
Coming from a family of 17 psychotherapists—and with the last name Livingston—there was no question that Glenn Livingston would be a doctor. And while the weight of his highly-stressful career, painful divorce and near bankruptcy could have easily done him in, it was Glenn’s battle with his actual weight that nearly did it instead.
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Episode 014: Brett Melton
Also Humans
As one of the best high school players in America, Brett Melton was determined to turn four years at his dream university into a lucrative NBA career. But after an injury, a transfer, and a coach’s unethical behavior Brett realized: when it comes to basketball, the difference between pro and amateur is often just a few unfair bounces of the ball.
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Episode 013: Hunter Smith
Also Humans
He was one of the best punters in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts in 2007. But Hunter Smith has learned that fame and fortune and football don’t fulfill him. In fact, just two years into his professional career he realized on the outside he had everything, but on the inside he felt nothing.
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Episode 012: Angela Schaffner
Also Humans
She was known for being smart and musical and athletic…but it was what people didn’t know about Angela Schaffner that truly defined her. At least for awhile. As an author and psychologist, Angela now spends her days helping people work through their issues, but she first had to learn how to deal with her own.
info_outlineAs a successful entrepreneur, an accomplished singer-songwriter, and impressive selfie-taker, Bridget Lyons is equal parts smart, talented, and beautiful. She truly has it all. But what her thriving businesses, sold-out shows, and portfolio-like Instagram feed don’t show you is that, as a teenager, Bridget lost it all too.
“We definitely didn’t grow up in a normal situation. No nuclear family or white picket fences. My mom is a drug-addict and convicted felon. I was 15 when my mom started leaving. Long story short, I ended up with custody of my younger sisters.
So much of wanting for them has shaped who I am as a person. They shaped my life in such an incredible way. Even just the desire to love them and support them and see them grow. And, really, that has made me grow.
It’s the moments that people have treated me like I was important…that’s what shaped my life.”
Bridget Lyons is a singer-songwriter who has headlined stages across the country, including at SXSW and Sundance. Her Americana sound has been called “swamp rock” and is heavily influenced by Blues, Southern Rock and R&B. Bridget is also a highly successful entrepreneur who has started and sold multiple businesses and currently runs a boutique pet hotel in downtown Chicago.