The Call Center Rebel with Richard Blank
The RebelRebel Podcast
““You shouldn’t use words to burn. They should be for light and for warmth.” Richard has spent the last 19 years running a near-shore bilingual contact center that thrives on empathy, communication, and human connection in an era dominated by automation. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In this episode, Michael Dargie sits down with Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica’s Call Center. Richard has spent the last 19 years running a near-shore bilingual contact center that thrives on empathy, communication, and human...
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From Teeth to Tech with Brandon Sherwood
The RebelRebel Podcast
“Entrepreneurship is the craziest, scariest roller coaster ever.” What happens when selling RVs leads to buying dental scrap, melting it down for precious metals, and then launching a startup with a mission to bless lives? In this episode, I talk with Brandon Sherwood about entrepreneurship, family, and why it’s just not that serious. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In This Episode In this episode, Michael Dargie chats with Brandon Sherwood, an entrepreneur from Heber City, Utah, whose path has been anything but...
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The Sound of Success with Jodi Krangle
The RebelRebel Podcast
In this episode, Michael Dargie sits down with Jodi Krangle, a professional voice actor, singer, and host of the Audio Branding podcast. Based just north of Toronto, Jodi has been a full-time voice actor for nearly two decades, lending her voice to clients around the world while exploring the psychology and power of sound . Jodi shares how her journey started in the mid-90s when she volunteered at CNIB, recording articles to reel-to-reel tape for the visually impaired. Years later, after burning out in SEO and internet marketing, she returned to the idea of voice acting and built a thriving...
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Speed Learning for Rebels with Howard Berg
The RebelRebel Podcast
“Speed reading doesn’t work. Speed learning works.” What happens when a kid from Brooklyn grows up to become the world’s fastest reader and teaches others to learn 100% faster in just four hours? In this episode, I talk with Howard Berg about speed learning, knowledge, and why smarter decisions could change the world. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In this episode, Michael Dargie sits down with Howard Berg, officially recognized as the world’s fastest reader by the Guinness Book of Records. Howard reads at a...
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RebelRebel Takeover Episode: BrandJitsu Uncovered
The RebelRebel Podcast
“Your value proposition is the reason people choose you.” What happens when Michael Dargie hands over the mic to branding legend JP Lacroix? In this takeover episode, they unpack the lessons behind BrandJitsu and why truth and clarity are the foundation of every brand story. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In this special takeover episode, Michael Dargie flips the script and lets branding veteran Jean Pierre Lacroix take the host’s chair. The focus is Michael’s book BrandJitsu, which JP describes as one of the...
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Lead It Like Lasso with Marnie Stockman & Nick Coniglio
The RebelRebel Podcast
“Question everything and see it from every perspective.” What happens when a high school math teacher and a computer programmer leave the corporate grind, write books inspired by Ted Lasso, and create a personal leadership app? In this episode, I talk with Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio about building businesses, books, and better leaders. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In This Episode In this episode, Michael Dargie welcomes co-authors, entrepreneurs, and leadership coaches Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio....
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Rebels, Rogues, and Role Playing with Jim Zub
The RebelRebel Podcast
“Sometimes you just have to create your own creative circle.” What happens when a kid from Oshawa who loved Dungeons & Dragons grows up to write the Avengers, Conan the Barbarian, and create new canon for D&D itself? In this episode, I catch up with my longtime friend Jim Zub, a comic writer, teacher, and storyteller who proves that staying in the game is the game. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In this episode, comic writer, teacher, and storyteller Jim Zub joins Michael Dargie to talk about a creative...
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Bold Moves Only with Dr. Apollo Emeka
The RebelRebel Podcast
“So many people are waiting for permission. A decision is the permission.” In this episode, Dr. Apollo Emeka joins the conversation from Panama City, Panama, where he and his family relocated after wildfires forced them from their home in California. What began as an evacuation turned into a bold life decision—one that exemplifies the very work Apollo now does with leaders and entrepreneurs: helping them make decisions so bold that the path forward becomes obvious. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In This Episode...
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From Sea Kings to Stout with Rob Truscott
The RebelRebel Podcast
“You don’t know what you don’t know—until you travel.” Today’s guest is Rob Truscott—retired Canadian Forces navigator, brewer, and motorcycle enthusiast. From flying in Sea Kings and responding to Swissair 111 to surviving cancer and brewing in Nova Scotia, he’s living proof that memento mori is less about dying—and more about living. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In This Episode In this episode, Michael Dargie welcomes Rob Truscott—retired military navigator, brewer at Great Roads Brewing,...
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Ignite Your Neurons with Utkarsh Narang
The RebelRebel Podcast
“I’m someone who’s building life one day at a time—and loving it.” In this episode, coach, facilitator, TEDx speaker, and podcast host Utkarsh Narang checks in from Melbourne—“in the future,” as he jokes—and lays out a life stitched together by courage, curiosity, and conscious impact. This episode is sponsored by my new book , helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. In This Episode Raised in a family of doctors, he followed a straight path into physiotherapy, running three clinics in Delhi. But a restless question kept tugging: what’s my larger...
info_outline“I wish people would just know that their fear is what is stopping them”
A misfit. A filmmaker. A disruptor for good.
Guillermo Barraza is building a future where creators know their power—and how to use it responsibly.
This episode is sponsored by my new book BRANDJITSU, helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world.
In This Episode
Michael Dargie welcomes Guillermo Barraza to the studio—filmmaker, founder of the Homegrown Arts and Media Collective, and passionate advocate for ethical media creation. From growing up in Calgary in a traditional Latino family to building a brand-new platform for mentorship and media literacy, Guillermo shares a raw and compelling journey of purpose, burnout, resilience, and reinvention.
What began as a film festival to help underdog creators has grown into a non-profit collective aimed at helping young people—and new grads in particular—learn how to create and consume media responsibly. The show dives into his belief that everyone is a media producer now, whether they realize it or not, and the stakes have never been higher.
We talk about what it means to be the minority, how travel changes everything, and why fear of the unknown might be holding you back more than you think. Guillermo shares the trials of job hunting, the accidental magic of film festivals, and the turning point when he watched his four-year-old instinctively start vlogging—and realized he had to do something.
This episode is a rallying cry for rebels, misfits, and creators who know there’s a better way.
Quotable Quotes
“I’ve always shone in destabilization. I’m always the one throwing a monkey wrench into things.”
“My purpose was never more solidified than when I saw my four-year-old daughter instinctively start vlogging.”
“All knowledge is essentially self-knowledge. What you don’t know is where you grow.”
“Lean into your ignorance—there’s invincibility in not knowing what’s ahead but knowing you can handle it.”
“I wish people would just know that their fear is what is stopping them.”
Episode Highlights
Homegrown Arts & Media Collective | Mentoring the next generation of ethical creators
Four-Year-Old Vlogger | The moment that changed everything
Firelight Film Festival | A love letter to underdog creators
Calgary Life | Growing up in a city of sovereign quadrants
130+ Job Applications | The journey that pushed him to build something new
Early Travel | Realizing Calgary <> El Salvador isn’t all there is
Rubber the Movie | Weird cinema and why it matters
Tennyson & Bruce Lee | Unlikely combo, deep philosophy
Existential Crisis at 27 | Learning who he is by becoming who he wasn’t
Comfort Food | Mini-Wheats, cereal stress eating, and Italian tomato sauce
Favourite Films | Godfather Part I, Dead Man, Mission: Impossible as cinema history
Cuba Cigar Quest | Street smarts, Santa Claus, and the ultimate hustle
Advice for Rebels | “Head down, get through it.”
Links from the Episode
Homegrown Arts & Media Collective *Under Development* (http://wearehomegrown.ca/)
Guillermo on Insta (https://www.instagram.com/weare.homegrown/)
Guillermo on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/WeAreHomegrownYYC/)
Guillermo on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/we-are-homegrown/?viewAsMember=true)
Get Your Copy of Michael's Book:
"BrandJitsu™: Move Your Brand From 'Meh' To Memorable"
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