Step Up! with Paul de Burger - a podcast about motivation, people, and living life on your terms

Step Up! with Paul de Burger - a podcast about motivation, people, and living life on your terms.

S03 E05: Fiona Steil-Antoni on a Life in Chess 12/21/2020

S03 E05: Fiona Steil-Antoni on a Life in Chess Fiona Steil-Antoni, Women's International Master (WIM) and popular Twitch streamer, joined me on Step Up! to talk about her brilliant career in chess. Fiona has competed for Luxembourg on the world stage since she was eleven years old, battling it out with the world's best at many of the chess world's most prestigious international tournaments. We talked about her early days in Luxembourg, her first exposure to chess, and training under Czech Grandmaster Vlastimil Jansa on the national team. We also covered Fiona's amazing individual gold medal win at the 2006 World Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy, as well as some of her earlier experiences in competition. We chatted about the importance of confidence while competing, and the value of being prepared physically and mentally before entering an important competition. In 2014 Fiona transitioned in her chess career by moving from the player's seat to covering the Reykjavik Open for tournament organizers. Since then she has broadcast from many of chess's biggest events and built a popular Twitch channel with more than 10,000 followers. Of course, any discussion about chess in late 2020 is incomplete without touching on the Queen's Gambit. Paul and Fiona talked about the gorgeous cinematography, the impact of the show, and the accuracy of the chess scenes. Fiona's energy and enthusiasm made this a fantastic show - it was my pleasure and privilege to host her on the final episode of 2020! Fiona Steil-Antoni - Chess Competition Highlights: Winner, Women's Luxembourg Championships (multiple titles) Gold, Women's Chess Olympiad, 2006 Bronze, European Small Nations Championship, 2009 (team award) 2nd, WGM Tournament, Condom Chess Festival, 2008 2nd, Klaskvik Open, 2010 2nd, Uxbridge Autumn Women's International, 2010 Winner, with Tom Weber - Blitz Pairs, Gibraltar, 2011 2nd, WIM Tournament of the Mulhouse Chess Festival, 2012 Show Info and Links: Fiona's Twitch channel: Fiona's Twitter feed: During the episode, Fiona mentioned the upcoming Tata Steel Chess Tournament, taking place January 15-31 in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. For more on this tournament, visit: Paul’s Additional Info: Paul's Twitter feed: Paul’s Professional Speaking & Corporate Training: Intro Music: RetroFuture Clean Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ /episode/index/show/pauldeburger/id/17272121

S03 E04: Tara Weir On Solo Cycling the Globe 09/15/2020

S03 E04: Tara Weir On Solo Cycling the Globe It was a huge pleasure to connect with adventure cyclist Tara Weir to talk about exploring the globe on two wheels. Tara has cycled more than 37,000 kilometres in twenty different countries. She's a solo adventurer, known for tackling challenging routes with no support cars or guides - just a bike and an unrelenting will to keep moving forward. We talked about Tara's roots in Toronto and her early tours through India, Nepal, Mongolia, and Southeast Asia. Planning, logistics, and training for long rides were discussed, as well as some of the motivating books and people who inspired Tara to explore the planet. We also touched on staying positive on long rides, and the awesome impact that the people you meet along the way can have on a traveler's experience. Tara recounted some of the challenges from her ride on the Wild West Route, a tour she did last year (2019) from Canmore, Alberta through Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona, all the way to the Mexican border. During that ride she covered more than 4,500 kilometres and 58,000 metres of climbing - all while dodging bears and fighting huge temperature swings. We talked about the pure wonder of exploring Mongolia and Australia, the magic of Myanmar, and her future plans to travel to other locations around the world. Countries where Tara has ridden: China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia, Pakistan, India, Tajikstan, Kyrgystan, Canada, the US, Chile, Argentina, Greece, and Nepal. Show Info and Links: Tara's Blog: The Adventures of Margo Polo - Books Tara mentioned during the show: Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook - Neil & Harriet Pike The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa - Neil Peart Paul's Additional Info: Paul de Burger – Photography: Paul's Professional Speaking & Corporate Training: Intro Music: RetroFuture Clean Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ /episode/index/show/pauldeburger/id/16020260

S03 E03: Tetsuji Nakamura On Life and Lessons Learned in the Martial Arts 08/04/2020

Step Up - S03 Ep02 - Aleksandra Wozniak on a Career in Professional Tennis, Peak Performance, and New Beginnings 06/18/2020

S03 Ep01 : Angeline V. Teo on Life & Leadership in Challenging Times 05/06/2020

S2 Ep05: Fareen Samji on Smashing the Grass Ceiling 06/12/2019

S2 E04 : Adrian Leeds (HGTV's House Hunters International) on Living in Paris, Creating Your Own Path, and Embracing the Now 04/14/2019

S2 Ep 03: Sarah Nurse on Olympic Dreams, Silver Linings, and a Life in Hockey 05/24/2018

S2 Ep 01 – Scott Wilson (TV’s Departures / Descending) – On Travel, Taking Risks, and the Terrible Taste of Tarantulas 05/18/2016

S2 Ep 01 – Scott Wilson (TV’s Departures / Descending) – On Travel, Taking Risks, and the Terrible Taste of Tarantulas Season 2 of Step Up! kicks off with special guest Scott Wilson. Scott is an adventurer, deep sea diver, guitar player, and creator of some of the most visually stunning travel and exploration documentaries on television. Paul sits down with Scott at Bell City Brewing, in Scott’s hometown of Brantford, Ontario. The guys talk about Scott’s interest in travel and his evolution as a documentarian, the birth of Echo Bay Media, and the launch of television’s Departures (OLN, National Geographic, CityTV, Netflix). Paul asks Scott about the stunning visuals created by Scott’s business partner (and camera wizard) Andre Dupuis, as well as the logistics of creating shows like Departures and Descending. They also talk about Scott’s plane crash in Indonesia, handling problems while on the road, the power of travel, and the terrible taste of Cambodian tarantulas. If you’re a fan of all things travel, film-making / television, or taking risks to realize your vision, this is a show not to miss! A huge thanks to Bell City Brewing in Brantford for hosting us, and for providing us with the inspiration (a delicious black coffee IPA called Brewed Awakening) for the show! ABOUT SCOTT WILSON Scott is a world traveller, diver, and co-founder of Echo Bay Media (with Andre Dupuis). A Gemini Award Nominee (for excellence in Canadian television), Scott has flown more than 1.1 million kilometres, visited 65 countries, and all 7 continents. Co-founder of Echo Bay Media, and co-host of television’s Departures (three seasons), and Descending (one season), Scott has made an important contribution to the world of travel and television documentaries. Scott is a licensed airplane pilot, motorcycle enthusiast, avid shipwreck diver, and guitar player. He lives in the Niagara Peninsula (Ontario, Canada). LINKS FROM THE SHOW A number of links were mentioned this week! Here they are: Scott’s corporate / business site: Outdoor Life Network (where you can watch full episodes of Descending): Paul’s travel blog: Paul’s photography site: Bell City Brewing (Brantford, Ontario): Twitter handles: Scott – Andre Dupuis – Justin Lukach – departures (TV show) – Paul – /episode/index/show/pauldeburger/id/4377541

Step Up Episode 1.mp3 10/11/2014

Step Up! with Paul de Burger - a podcast about motivation, people, and living life on your terms

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