Libsyn Directory

Episode 049: Matt Hill -- Run for One Planet, runner and environmentalist

Release Date: 05/08/2017

Episode 071: Dr. Russ Kennedy -- The Anxiety MD

What we cover: In this moment, we are safe. Today's guest is Dr Russ Kennedy – someone I have known since 2004, when I launched my brief stint into the stand up comedy world. Russ was a fellow comic, and I got to know him then, and I always really liked him. I eventually set that aside as I evolved as a writer and instead focused more on my foray into the world of one-woman shows – but Russ remained in my orbit because my brother Julien Dionne and his girlfriend Jennifer Grant are comics and so I continued to see Russ perform over the years. The thing I dug about Russ is that he wasn’t...

Episode 070: Stacey Shand -- Ultra-distance athlete and adventurer

What we cover: "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference." -- Robert Frost Today’s guest is Stacey Shand. If there is a woman more easy to have a Girl Crush on that Stacey Shand, I have yet to meet her. Stacey is an ultra-extreme endurance athlete and adventurer. She is affectionately known as ‘Racey Stacey’, and she has been keeping a promise she made to herself from her hospital bed following a near tragic auto accident a number of years ago. When she was faced with the realities of what could have been, she vowed never to take her physical abilities --...

Episode 069: Kevin Reynolds -- Olympic Figure Skater

What we cover: "Take the past for what it is. And then, focus on moving forward." -- Kevin Reynolds Today's guest is Kevin Reynolds. He is, of course, the Canadian figure skating super star who won silver at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, as part of the mixed team event. According to the official Olympics athlete site, he is the first skater in the world to ever land a quad-triple-triple combination, and in 2010 he became the first man ever to land two quadruple jumps in the short program – and we talk about all that goodness. But this is by no means just a talk about skating. You...

Episode 068: Sherry Strong -- Chef, Nutritionist, Food Philosopher

What we cover: “Addiction is the body’s way of telling you that you’re not listening to your soul.” – Sherry Strong Today's guest is Sherry Strong – and strong she is. She is a woman who, after 35-years of playing the “victim”, which so many of us are guilty of from time to time – and who also struggled with an addiction to sugar to numb the sadness, took a good look in the mirror and said enough is enough. She was, as she puts it: “sick, obese, tired, and wanted to die.” Today, she is a professional chef, a nutritionist, and a food philosopher – and she can fit...

Episode 067: Mary-Jo Dionne -- writer/speaker/performer/podcaster

What we cover: In the interest of full disclosure, I have been ridiculously spread thin – as we all can get from time to time – and completely run down, wrapping up deadlines before I shut the office down until the new year. I have been up late into the night with a sick 2-year-old. And I have been going through this incredibly heavy sadness on account of learning that someone I cared for very much in my high school life, died – but the thing of it all is that he died many years ago. Nearly 25, in fact. And I only just found out. Grieving after-the-fact is a strange and lonely...

Episode 066: Anna Rice -- Two-time Olympic badminton player

What we cover: “The most important things I’ve learned in life, I’ve learned on the badminton court.” – Anna Rice Today’s Guest Titan is two-time Olympian, Anna Rice – a woman who admits that, as far as life goes, everything she’s learned so far, she’s learned on the badminton court. This is a woman who is ripe with insights, and who possesses a calm wisdom that I found quite intoxicating, really. I know you’re going to love her. This isn’t really a conversation about badminton, so much as it is a conversation about our own thought processes, the stories we...

Episode 065: Mary-Jo Dionne -- host, Tea with a Titan

What we cover: "You have to lose sight of the shore, to discover new lands." -- Andre Gide, paraphrased For those of you who listen to the show on a regular basis, it’s not news that I am a huge proponent of perspective shifting. And of gear shifting. Of being adaptable and of having the ability to readjust as needed. As we were planning our recent trip to California, I had a couple leads with amazing LA-based Guest Titans, both of which didn’t end up panning out at the last minute. Because we couldn’t get schedules to align. At first I was a bit disappointed, but that...

Episode 064: Karin Fortin Jackson -- Part Two ("After") Triathlete / Weight loss success story

What we cover: "For temporary results, commit to temporary changes. For permanent results, commit to permanent ones." -- Karin Fortin Jackson, 3-time Ironman finisher, who lost 120 pounds In 18 months of conversations with people I admire, this might rank as my most favourite chat yet. And I say that with the full admission that I have loved every one of my Guest Titan encounters. Karin Fortin Jackson is so honest, so unassuming, so humble, so candid. She allows us a private peek inside her very personal journey – a journey that has a clear “before” and a clear...

Episode 063: Karin Fortin Jackson -- Triathlete / Weight loss success story (Part One: Before)

Episode 063: Karin Fortin Jackson -- Triathlete / Weight loss success story (Part One: Before)

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What we cover: "Just take one small step --- every day." -- Matt Hill

There are some people on this amazing planet who you just know when you meet them are the ones who are on a mission to make it an even more spectacular place than it already is. Undeniably, one of those people is Matt Hill.

A much sought after voice actor, he’s well known as having played Raphael on the Ninja Turtles, he’s Tender Heart the Care Bear, he’s Ton Ton on the Netflix and DreamWorks series DinoTrux, he’s Ed on Ed, Edd, and Eddy. He’s kind of everywhere. Which is no surprise because he is tireless. But he’s more than just enthusiastic and energetic -- he is joy filled, he oozes integrity, he is kind, and he takes action.

In May, 2008, he and his friend, Steph, embarked on an unthinkable journey; on a tour they named The Run for One Planet Tour, which would ultimately see them run from Vancouver, on the west coast of Canada, to St John’s Newfoundland on the eastern most tip of Canada, down to the state of Florida across to the state of California, and back home to Vancouver 369 days later by running a marathon each day, every one of those days. The purpose? To connect with kids, and to remind them to be kind to the planet. By that end of that gruelling yet joyous and unparalleled year, they had connected with more than 50,000 students and completed more than 22,000,000 steps… Thereby serving as the real life reminder that every great goal requires a commitment to taking that one next step, and then that one next step, and then that one next step.

You don’t have to be a runner or an athlete to get that what Matt has accomplished is a metaphor for us all – for anyone who is playing with the idea of a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. No matter the objective, it’s about taking that first step… and then not stopping until you’ve taken 21,999,000 more.

This year, nearly 8 years after the initial tour wrapped, Matt and Steph were recognized with a Governor General Meritorious Award – for bringing honour to their home country, Canada. And on the day this posts, Monday, May 8th, 2017, in the city of Vancouver, it is the official Run for One Planet Day – a day set aside to get active, and to take action.

Matt being Matt, an unstoppable force, will be running through the streets of Vancouver from 8am to 8pm. If you’re in Vancouver, swing by the Terry Fox Monument in front of BC Place for his 8am send off or for his 8pm finish at the same place – an intentional location, in light of the fact that Terry remains to this day the single biggest inspiration in Matt’s life, just as he is to so many people across Canada and around the world.

A quick admin item about Terry Fox, Matt and I talk about him and the work of the Terry Fox Foundation, the uber-well-respected organization dedicated to cancer research. We were unsure of the amount that has been raised in Terry’s name and we made a guess and we were way off… When you hear us talk about it, just know the actual amount is closer to $750 million.

If you can’t join Matt from where you are, send him a shout-out on social media. Reach out to him on Twitter at: @MattHillInspire. Or on Instagram at: @MattHill_Inspire. Cheer him on from wherever you are. We are posting this episode a day earlier than we usually do, so that we can rally as much support for this stellar human and his “Let’s Be Good to Ourselves and to the Planet” message as is possible.

MJDionne.com

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