Sharing the love with my good friend, Dominik Shley. You may know Dominik from his popular YouTube channel, Crystals of Arkansas, or from your last trip up to Mt. Ida, Arkansas. How would you know him from there? Well, surely he’s the only 6’5” German dude with dreads to inhabit the area…perhaps ever! He’s truly a gem (pun intended) and in this episode we cover his departure from Europe as a young man, his time as an organic gardener in Hawaii, his eventual journey into mainland America, and how he ended up pulling crystals out of the Arkansas dirt for his followers on YouTube (videos that, by the way, have accumulated a million+ views). He just recently opened his own brick-and-mortar tourist attraction in Mt. Ida and joins us remotely to discuss the ups, downs, and unexpected turns of his life as an entrepreneur. He’s a dear friend and I’m really happy we were able to have him on the show!

Part 2 of our trip down to good Ol’ New Orleans! In this episode, we have a reunion with a good friend from Jason’s past, Ryan Hitchin. Like Jason, Ryan hails from Los Angeles and spent some of his early years in the Valley. After a stint in Texas, he ended up in New Orleans and has been there ever since. He currently leads a small band called The Jellyroll Stompers and consistently plays gigs around New Orleans. In this episode, he and Jason reminisce on the good old days in middle school, talk about the pandemic’s effect on the French Quarter, and Ryan gives a bit of insight into what locals really think of all those danged tourists. First remote episode recorded outside in a local park surrounded by the sights and sounds of a Spring day in the Quarter…which is really just a slice of heaven.

We’ve got a two-parter here! Both episodes take down to good Ol’ New Orleans as Jason speaks with two dear friends of his and explores the reasons why he loves the city as much as he does. In part one, Jason interviews one of the most eclectic, engaging, and inventive people he’s ever met – Mr. Rick. If you can imagine it, Mr. Rick has probably made it at some point in his long history as a New Orleans-born mixed-media artist, taxidermist, and professional painter. He’s done and seen it all, from a long and fulfilling career in the military to being personally trained by painter Bob Ross to taking his art to the streets with a stall in the historic French Market. Quite a life for this self-made man and we’re thrilled to have him share it with us on the show this week.