Drown The Noise

Jonathan Phair never really got the whole "yoga" thing. That was until his wife, Queenie, suggested he give it a try. And at first he didn't like it. He makes it very clear that yoga - like anything else- takes time to get good at. It doesn't happen overnight. For Queenie, her journey to becoming a yogi was a bit different. She was never a very active individual. She couldn't even touch her toes. But when a family member opened up his own yoga studio, she started practicing on a regular basis and slowly fell in love with the way it made her body and mind feel. These two yogi's connected while living abroad in Asia, and fell in love while exploring the world. After many stints with government organizations and jobs that he didn't love, Jonathan took the plunge and completed his own yoga training to join his wife in the teaching field. They are well known around the city of Toronto and the online yoga community, and most recently launched their own retreats around the world under the umbrella of Phair Yoga, cal

Mary was always interested in fashion. She was often looked at as a bit of an outsider growing up, because when everyone was interested in sports or playing outside, Mary was designing her own clothes and interested in everything having to do with fashion. Fast forward a few years, and Mary now has her own signature line of lingerie and loungewear for women under her own brand - Mary Young. She's fairly new on the fashion scene, having only been around for three years now; but she is definitely one of Canada's up and coming designers to watch. Her whole focus is to create fashionable, yet functional clothing. And she is all about creating lingerie that empowers women to embrace their individuality and refuse contortion into industry definitions of sexy. She believes women should love themselves, no matter what size and shape. We talk about breaking into the fashion industry; how she's been able to build her own brand so fast; what the most challenging parts have been as a solo-preneur; what keeps her up at ni

From a chance encounter, to building an international brand; Stephanie Ciccarrelli has made a name for herself in the Canadian entrepreneurial space. Partly by accident. She was looking to get a vocal demo tape done after University, as she was hoping to one day break into the music scene as a recording artist. But instead, the sound engineer that ran the recording studio her mother had found in the local paper, ended up becoming her future husband and ultimately, business partner. Together they have built up a successful international brand called Voices.com, that connects businesses around the world with professional voice talent. They've been written about in the New York Times, Forbes Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and The Wall Street Journal, just to name a few. But they almost hit rock bottom at one point - living paycheque to paycheque just to keep the company going. We talk about starting a business on the internet before online companies were all the rage. How they built up a great company culture.

Have you ever met someone in your life that just leaves such a profound impression on you? Someone who you feel could probably move mountains? Well in my opinion, Erik Weihenmayer is one of those people. At an early age, Erik went completely blind due to a rare condition and it changed the course of his life. He had to re-learn how to do practically everything- while starting high school. There were tough times and struggles along the way; but he remained determined and pushed through any limitations. It wasn't an option to quit. Years later, he got into rock climbing competitively and with the support of his wife, pursued a career as a professional adventurer. He's now climbed all of the world's seven highest peaks - that includes Mt. Everest- and most recently challenged himself to kayak the Grand Canyon (solo). And if that's not impressive enough, Erik co-founded an international organization called No Barriers, designed to unleash the potential of the human spirit so that people can contribute their ultim

I'm sure we've all at least done one internship in our lifetime. But imagine doing 15 internships - while still in University. That's exactly what Lauren Berger did and her friends coined her The Intern Queen. Which subsequently led her to start her own business. After taking on so many intern roles with a variety of communications, PR and media companies, Lauren gained her fair share of knowledge and experience. She learned how to make a name for herself, network with others, stand out from the crowd and gain invaluable skills that you just don't get taught in school. Realizing that a lot of young people don't take advantage of internships or maybe don't know exactly how to get in with the company of their dreams, Lauren set out to create an online platform where potential employers could list their company's internship opportunities, in order to connect them with the best intern candidates. She didn't have any idea how to start a company or have a back-up plan. She could barely make rent a month after start

Have you ever hated being singled out in a big group? Now imagine you have a learning disability or something that makes you so different from other kids growing up, that they bully you or tease you because you aren't "normal." Peter Joynt experienced this a lot as a kid. Luckily he says, he was a big kid, who didn't let bully's push him around; but there's no doubt, words hurt and they're hard to forget. He used humour and a love for music to build relationships with others and vowed to never let his 'difference' stop him from doing anything he ever wanted. And he's stuck to this belief. After years of working on his own music, and releasing albums, he finally had a few songs go viral. One in particular, called Capcity, that celebrates the awesome aspects of Canada's Capital, Ottawa.  Because he never gave up his passion, he's been able to collaborate with the Ottawa Senators, rapped for the Governor General of Canada and become a well-known speaker in the Ottawa school system on bullying and acceptance. Thi

Did you know what you wanted to be when you were younger? I definitely did not. One day I wanted to drive a school bus, the next day I wanted ten kids and a limo. For Erin Bury, Managing Director of Eighty Eight Agency, she always knew she wanted to be in marketing and complete a journalism degree. From an early age, she would have discussions around the dinner table with her mom about marketing strategies and different campaign ideas. When it came time for Erin to graduate from University, she was convinced she could land a career on her own - she had a prestigious degree under her belt, some amazing work experience and a lot of personal drive. But she quickly found out that it wasn't enough. That's when she learned the power of introductions and networking. And she's built her career around it. One handshake at a time. We talk about the importance of having a vision for your career; being open to nepotism and taking introductions; navigating internships and building up your personal brand; failures and how

Have you ever started a fitness routine, only to fall off a few weeks - or heck- a few days later? And don't you just want to find others who can help you stay motivated and accountable to your personal fitness goals? Well, now there's an App that can help make all your wishes come true. Laura Davidson is the founder of the social fitness app known as Whistle. She created it out of her own personal struggle to stay motivated with her fitness goals. She always found herself getting obsessed with routines, only to fall off a few months later. And she didn't want to have to pay the expensive gym memberships to get in shape; but she wanted the community. Her solution - create a tinder-like app, where people can find like-minded fitness enthusiasts to work out with in their own cities. She's just in the beginning stages of the business; but so far the response has been incredible. She's hoping to roll it out over Canadian cities first, with the plans to expand on a global level. We talk about what it takes to crea

Komal Ahmad didn't set out to be the CEO of a company destined to change the world. She always wanted to help others and make an impact; but in a completely different way. She was actually studying to be a naval doctor, when her world was thrown upside down- in a great way. One day, as she was walking to the University of Berkeley's campus, she noticed a man sitting on the side of the road begging for food. This struck a chord with her and instead of giving him money, she decided to take him for lunch. His story set her life on a completely different path. In that very moment, she made it her mission to try and end the systemic problem of hunger in not only America; but around the world. And so, she began a not-for-profit while still in school, which in turn morphed into a for-profit company that is now called Copia. A technology to save money, reduce waste and feed communities in need. All companies have to do is download the app, and they too, can help end world hunger.  Komal and I discuss everything from

Let's get real for a moment. None of us REALLY know what we are doing with our lives. But the ones who look like they're having the most fun, took risks to get to where they are. Lauren McPhillips is one of those people. If you follow her on social media, you'd think she's got this dream life. All the perfect pictures. Gallivanting all over the world. Eating at the best restaurants and consuming copious amount of coffee. It's true, it looks perfect. But it hasn't been easy. Before starting This Renegade Love - a lifestyle and inspiration blog- Lauren saw herself climbing the corporate ladder in PR and even becoming an editor and chief one day. But at some point, her career aspirations shifted and she decided that her true love was writing. That's where she finds the most joy. In this episode we talk about investing in yourself; how to build a personal brand; social media tactics she used to grow her following in the first year; where she see's herself in the next five years and what legacy she hopes to leave

More often than not, we spend a lot of our early adult years trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives. But it really wasn't until Jared Sternberg began studying law in his mid-twenties, that he realized there was a bigger passion inside of him. One where he could travel and share his passion for helping historically underrepresented peoples and their environment with others. He made the difficult decision to leave a law degree in human rights and the environment, so that he could launch his own travel company and embark on an entrepreneurial path.  Today, his company is known as Gondwana Eco-tours. They exist to offer a positive, meaningful and relaxing travel experience that benefits both the traveler and the destination. You can join them on multiple adventures in Alaska, explore the natural beauty of Ecuador, discover the Northern Lights with like-minded adventurers, watch wildlife roam on their Tanzanian safari experience and immerse yourself in the beauty and community of your surroundings.

Are you a planner or someone who loves to fly by the seat of your pants? Consider this: maybe not having a plan isn't such a bad thing... If Andrea Lui followed what she was good at in school, she would have ended up as an accountant. Moral of that story - what you are good at, doesn't need to be your life's work unless you love it. She decided to take a very different path, which led her on some amazing adventures around the world, and a successful career in acting, and now pole performance. But if you were to ask her today what she does for a career, you wouldn't exactly get a straight answer. You see, every decision she's made usually revolves around this one question. "Am I having fun?" If she's not, she finds something else to do. Imagine not being tied down to something and just following what makes you happy. We discuss how she ended up almost joining the circus; how she randomly became a performer with Disney; why telling a white lie lead her to a career in professional pole performance and her belief

Not everyone needs to be like Tiger Woods and start a sport at the age of two. Sure, that might give you an advantage, or leg up on your future opponents; but sometimes, all it takes to make it to the top in your sport, is talent and an obscene amount of dedication. My next guest is a pro wakeboarder on the women's circuit and she's a prime example of what dedication, resilience and focus can get you. Erika Langman picked up the sport at the age of 15. She spent her childhood on the lake at her cottage in Northern Ontario, water-skiing, tubing and taking part in the typical water sports that existed at the time. Until one day her friends introduced her to the world of wakeboarding and that was it, she was hooked. From a young age, her parents taught her the value of not quitting after committing to something. She needed to see things through to the end. If you want something badly enough, then you need to give it your all, even when the going gets tough. In this candid interview, we discuss everything from di

Are you an adventure seeker? Someone who's always looking for that next thrill, new experience or trip of a life-time? Rarely satisfied with the status quo? Then you'll definitely relate to Mike Brcic. He's an entrepreneur, speaker, adventure-seeker, and founder of a world renowned mountain bike company, known as Sacred Rides. Years ago, after finishing his University degree, he was left with a nagging feeling that he didn't want to work in the field he just studied for four years. Instead, the Canadian mountains were 'calling' him and against other people's wishes, he packed up and didn't come back for over ten years. And he didn't really have a plan at the beginning. Becoming an entrepreneur wasn't a life-long dream for Mike. He kind of fell into it - to be perfectly honest- after realizing he wasn't a great employee, and getting fired from a few jobs. He's been through the crazy highs of running a successful adventure tour company for over 20 years and the lowest of lows - both personally and professionall

It wasn't always about connection and collaboration for Joanna Waterfall. Before founding The Yellow Conference and Yellow/Co. - which started as a yearly event to bring together creative women with businesses designed to do good in the world- she was burned out and tired of competition as a graphic designer. What she did notice during this time in her life, was that she was constantly meeting other women who were inspiring her to be more creative and heart centered. She would meet them through friends, at random events, or by chance and it got her thinking - 'wouldn't it be great to get all these women in one room to share their stories with each other.' And so begins the story of Yellow/Co. With no experience hosting events or conferences, and only an idea in mind, Joanna launched a movement that brings together entrepreneurs, social enterprises, influencers and creatives to collaborate and connect in a welcoming environment - both online and offline. And as I found out, she didn't always dream of being an 

Taking care of yourself is the number one thing that often get's pushed to the way side when we become busy with our daily lives. And yet, if our health starts to fail in anyway, other aspects of our lives will surely crumble. Holistic nutritionist, entrepreneur, author and speaker -Joy McCarthy, knows all too well what it feels like to be unhealthy. For years, she suffered with digestive issues, hormonal imbalance and anxiety. The struggle to find out what was actually at the root of her problems, led her to study at The Institute of Holistic Nutrition in Toronto. She had been working in advertising, was on the brink of burn out and dealing with a multitude of health issues that weren't going away. She knew prescriptions weren't the answer to her problems, so she adjusted her eating habits, started taking control of her health, and learned as much as she could when it came to proper foods, supplements and healthy living. She's now a sought after media health expert for CTV, Global, Best Health, The Globe &am

I'm sure we would all love to find that one thing that lights us up and gets us excited each day. Maria Russo can confidently say she found her purpose after starting her own non-profit called Humanity Unified International in Rwanda with her husband.  Like most entrepreneurs, getting to this point wasn't a straight line and it wasn't an overnight decision. She spent most of her 20's going from job to job, exploring different interests and realizing quite quickly, that working on celebrity content and entertainment just wasn't for her. She loved to travel and was drawn to tell stories of people making a global impact. So out of sheer interest, Maria started a blog called The Culture-ist which eventually took off and morphed into a successful online magazine with collaborations with National Geographic and other prominent brands. Tune into this episode if you are curious about social good, changing lives and doing purposeful work that's changing the world for the better.

It's one thing to move to a new country; but it's a totally different ball game when you try and create a company in that new environment. Having grown up on the other side of the world, only knowing a few people in Canada, Emile created Aussie X with his Co-founder, Kaela Bree (from scratch) with the vision of bringing Australian sports into the Canadian school systems to inspire kids to get active. And that was just the beginning. In 2015, they re-launched their company under the banner of XMovement, and have expanded their reach and impact with live experiences of dance, tai chi and pilates, an online well-being game for schools and their world-class culture and leadership consulting program. They've been featured on Dragon's Den on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), have since hired a team to help them implement their programs and are expanding at a rapid rate, while having a massive positive impact on the mental and physical well-being of our youth. If you want to know how they got started, the hig

Does the word 'stylesmith' mean anything to you? I'm guessing probably not. But you may know what a 'smith' is - like a blacksmith or a gunsmith. Well, two female entrepreneurs are putting a spin on the word and focusing in on the stylist experience when it comes to online shopping. They're basically your modern day go-to shoppers, who help you figure out which body type you are and then do the shopping for you by hunting down the latest styles and trends to suit your shape. Their partnership formed after working together in Advertising and recognizing that there was a hole in the marketplace when it came to the online shopping experience. The problem was blogs and e-boutiques weren't helping people make better choices. As they see it, they were just offering too many choices. Rena and I talk about how the concept for Smithery came to life; the struggles they've faced along the way; the secrets to making a partnership work; what it's really like in the first year of business and how it can seem glamorous on t

As we all know, life is not a straight path. It pretty much resembles a windy road, without an end in sight a lot of the time. Often it can be very unpredictable, a little scary and full of unexpected turns. But I suppose that's what makes it exciting, as well. My next guest understands change very well. Her original plan was to be a teacher. But when she accomplished that goal, and spent some time working in that field, Alexis quickly realized that wasn't her career aspiration after all. With a lot of trial and error, random jobs, stints in sales and a ton of perseverance, she began to figure out what her next steps would look like. They ultimately led her on an entrepreneurial journey, with a focus on culture- how to build it, what that looks like, and how to maintain a great culture within an organization. Most people throw around the word 'culture' and connect it to ping-pong tables, bean bag chairs, open concept work spaces and free snacks. That's in small part thanks to the start-up culture that's explo