This is Oklahoma

NEW SERIES! As some of you will know, I have a huge passion for golf. It is the reason I am here today, the reason I met my wife. Everything in my life has revolved around golf in someway so naturally covering it in a podcast series was a no brainer. CAN'T BELIEVE IT TOOK ME THIS LONG! The goal for this golf series is for me to get together with a few of my friends every week. Talk about local golfing events, local players, course reviews, current events in the golf media and generally to have a good time. On this episode myself, Blake Jackson and Coach Tim Braaten ( Ex SNU college golf teammates ) sit down to introduce ourselves, our plans, tell some funny golf stories. We recap on the previous weeks golf tournaments around the world that Oklahoma golfers and Oklahoma related golfers (such as university players from out of state) are playing in. As well as what we think the best local muni course is in OKC. I hope you enjoy this series, I am really excited to cover this topic and to share more stories from my golfing adventures around the world. Follow us on social media @thisisoklahomagolf AND LEAVE A REVIEW :) #thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sat down with Alyssa Murphy from Siren Media. Alyssa started Siren Media in 2018 after being fired from her current job. Alyssa with the help of some friends created a freelance army to tackle projects. Alyssa has a passion for helping small businesses. She grew up in Edmond, her family have a small business Weathers Audio and Video. So she uses that to her advantage to relate to her clients. Growing up at the family business answering phones at age 12 and engaging with customers. She learned customer service, always having some form of a job in her youth. Alyssa collected and learned all these attributes to small business to which she uses today. Alyssa graduated from UCO and decided that she didn’t want to continue working in cosmetics as she did through college for MAC. So once she graduated her sister has this opportunity to come work as a social media manager for her art gallery. Sadly social media management wasn’t valued that much by other businesses so there was no opportunity to scale. However the sales jobs were very lucrative. So Alyssa went to work as a saleswoman for a corporate media company selling media outlets such as radio ads, marketing products. This first quote corporate job out of college went well but after a while started to feel grey and never ending. Eventually she left that job to go work for a marketing company in Norman. After sometime there she was offered a new position a t a marketing firm in Mustang, Oklahoma. Working with smaller businesses to improve their marketing. But after a few months she realized there was very little business improvement being sold. It was more about getting the business and not helping the client. So Alyssa left that job and started her own shop “Siren Media” her goal is to disrupt the culture of women in the workplace allowing or having their upbringing impact their business. She's now in her second full year of business And today is where we are now. This was such a blast learning about small business needs. Follow Alyssa on social media @sirenmediaokc AND LEAVE A REVIEW!! Cheers Mike

On this episode I sat down with Stacey Aldridge – director of marketing and communications of Scissortail Park in OKC. Stacey shared her story and talks about preparing for the Grand Opening of the park. The plans for 2020's events and the future of the park. Stacey grew up in Massachusetts moved to East Texas her junior year of high school. Went to Texas Women’s University studying fashion merchandise with minor in marketing got into retail and shopping center development leading to a job in malls, worked at quail springs in 97 then moved to work at the Chesapeake arena and JUMPED at the opportunity to work at the scissortail park. Stacey started 7 weeks before the Grand Opening. The event weekend was a huge success, lots of media requests. She spent her time in the photography pit during the concert. 28,000 people came through the gates and a couple thousand more including media, vendors and volunteers. After this Grand Opening the real work starts for the park. Bringing people to visit OKC. The park is another location that can pull more out of state travelers and instate travelers to town. This whole district in downtown is growing for the better. Currently the event schedule is growing for the warmer weather months, they do get food trucks in for the weekends. But due to the erratic nature of the weather it’s hard to plan certain outdoor events. Events will pick up in March / April. You can stay up to date on park on social media @scissortailpark or online at www.scissortailpark.org Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review and share it with one of your friends. #thisisoklahoma

On this episode my wife Taryn joined me to interview sisters Emma & Addie Ryan. Owners of PLANT OKC in midtown OKC. If you have a social media, you watch the news or even have a Netflix account you borrow off your mates. You will have noticed that Plant based diets have been talked about a lot! So we thought what better idea than to interview the owners of OKC's most popular Plant based restaurant to find out their story. What a story it is. Emma was diagnosed with Cancer 9 years ago and after trying literally every possible option to cure her cancer she turned to a plant based diet. Go figure it worked! After Addie saw her recovery she tried it and her performance as a college athlete increased significantly. Now disclaimer here, everyone is different and not everyone will get the same results. However, myself and my wife eat 80-20 plant based meals and wow to do we feel better. So just give it a try. Eat more REAL FOOD and you'll be shocked at the difference in yourself. So not to ruin the whole story but 9 years later they have opened up their first restaurant. Emma has been a health coach and qualified chef for a long time and finally after lots of encouragement they opened PLANT OKC in August last year. This episode was so much fun! We laughed a ton and learned a ton about plant based food and how the girls make everything in house. If you're a first timer or want to try it please go to Plant OKC and ask for either Emma or Addie, they will tell you all you need to know and also there's a library of books there to read. You can get everything from a morning coffee and a bite to eat, a smoothie, lunch and dinner. Basically anything to fit your time of day! Try it out! Follow them here @plantokc Cheers, Mike #thisisoklahoma

On todays podcast I sat down with two past clients of mine. Josh and Katie Riley to talk about their new business RSP, Riley Sports Performance. Josh and Katie met in college where we all met as well. All of us are graduated of Southern Nazarene University. Josh is born and raised in San Diego with a love of baseball, football and basketball but naturally he was better at Baseball, which brought him to SNU. Katie grew up in Yukon and then went to SNU for athletic training. Both have always had a passion for sport. After graduating they moved away to New York to work in the corporate world. After two years in the big city working in the corporate world, not really spending as much time around athletics as they’d like, they decided to come back to Oklahoma. Shocking I know they chose Oklahoma over San Diego one would think! Once they returned they earned their fitness training certifications. Katie attended grad school and then they both worked at Gold’s Gym. Doing classes and building their client lists, building a community. After putting in the hours and building a community around fitness for all ages, shapes and sizes. The timing was perfect for them to grow into this new opportunity at ARC Athletic, Recovery and Rehabilitation with 12 classes a week. All hours of the day there is a class for your schedule. They have created a new class that’s not really seen in OKC. It’s an adult strength training class. So a whole lot more personal with multiple coaches attending each class. By creating it this way they can work with different people, different sizes, all levels of fitness from power lifters to the first timers wanting to get some weight off before their vacation. Even elderly people wanting to be more stable when they walk, being stronger is healthy and that doesn’t mean you’re going to be a body builder that means you’ll not hurt yourself when you bend over to pick that box up in your home. In short it’s a strength training class for all levels of fitness with multiple coaches there to make sure you are doing all the exercises correctly. Super excited for these two to be on this journey together for 2020. You are invited to their grand opening Feb 1st there’s an hour workout and one hour for recovery from 9-11am all the details are on their Facebook page. Coffee will be provided by whole shot coffee. GRAND OPENING LINK! https://www.facebook.com/events/616073282461015/ Classes through January are free! So come on down and check them out. https://www.rileysportsperformance.com Instagram @rileysportsperformance Thanks for listening and please leave me a review and 5* #thisisoklahoma Cheers

On this episode I sat down with Jaxon Uhles. Jaxon grew up in Norman and like every football players dream wanted to play at OU. He moved away to college but then returned and walked on at OU along side fellow walk on's that year. Probably the most notable was Baker Mayfield. Jaxon and Baker roomed together for their remaining years at OU. Jaxon talks about his time at OU, his first game when they beat Tennessee in double overtime away. The feeling of walking on the field in Norman and the support of the fans. While at college Jaxon needed a coffee table and after seeing the price of one at a local store he decided to build one himself. Soon other players wanted a coffee table and so his new business 44designco was launched. However, the NCAA wasn't too pleased with him using his number and any images of him playing for OU for marketing. So he slowed it down to comply with the NCAA regulations. He was just trying to make it through college and pay for his tuition. Fortunately for Jaxon the passion of woodworking never died off and he still does it today. He has found his niche in cutting boards. He can make them in bigger batches and pull more profit from the materials than he could if he was making coffee tables. Plus it takes him far less time to make a batch of cutting boards. Jaxon did this for a year out of college but the love of football kept tugging at him. He recently became one of the coaches at Deer Creek high school and his looking forward to coaching these kids through their high school careers but also in life. Jaxon is a part of OKC FCA the OKC chapter of the fellowship for christian athletes. Jaxon still makes cutting boards and they are brilliant! You can find them on his instagarm page @44designco Thanks for listening and be sure to leave us a review. We need it. #thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sat down with Justin Wren @thebigpigmy and Jordan Miller @iamjordanmiller to talk about their recent collaboration for FFTF. Justin has been on the podcast twice before (Ep 21 & 76) Talking about his foundation Fight For The Forgotten and his recent impact with #STANDWITHRAYDEN. Jordan has jumped on board at FFTF to bring his traveling assembly of musicians and creators to the masses. Jordan and his team at Generation Why travel across the country sharing their stories at school assemblies. Bringing hope to kids in school with the goal to stop teen suicides. This episode talks about how these guys have been impacting kids across the world and how they plan to act together to increase their reach. Big things coming from these two in 2020 super excited. Its a pleasure to have them on the podcast. Follow them here @thebigpigmy @iamjordanmiller @fightfortheforgotten @gnwy/co #thisisoklahoma Cheers, Mike

On this episode I sat down with Mr Guthrie. Heady Coleman. Heady is a motivational speaker, professional greeter, pastor, community builder and all round great human being. His sole purpose is to change lives and make peoples day! He writes more handwritten notes than anyone I have ever met and is definitely someone you should know and follow! His Instagram is @heady.coleman and you can find him at this months creative mornings greeting at the door or walking around his home town of Guthrie America. A town which he grew up in and is extremely proud to be a resident of. Follow us here @thisisoklahoma for more Oklahoma content and subscribe for more podcast videos to come on youtube and Facebook. #thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sit down with Eric Granado at the Central Exchange Building. Eric has ONLY been a photographer for a year! Crazy when you see his skills. Follow him on Instagram @eric.granado Eric was born in Oklahoma, went to school here and then moved away to Oregon. He really wanted to work for Nike. After multiple interviews with Nike, meeting a lot of Nike's top brass he was unsuccessful and decided to come home. Moving back to OKC fueled his passion for photography and here we are today. Eric started a really cool series around small businesses in OKC. After that slowed down he picked up a western theme and has now found his niche. Eric has worked with Stetson on there #stetsonstories and is continuing to perfect his craft and do incredible things with his camera to capture and share the stories of the people in the world of western culture, cowboys, ranchers, boot makers, all these interesting people. We will be featuring more of Eric's stories on our platforms in 2020. Its a perfect concept and ties in nicely with our 2020 theme of people. Enjoy this episode and please leave us a review and subscribe to our youtube channel to watch future episodes. ( link below ) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUb9wfhbrtok2FmpIAQ6Amg #thisisoklahoma

Episode 2 of our Automotive segment. Today we sit down with JD Terry a local home builder here in OKC to talk about his passion for cars. JD pulled up to the shop in his 1929 Ford then proceeded to take me for a spin in it around Edmond and WOW! You can see a photo of that car on his Instagram @okie_jd but sadly by the time we post this he has sold the car and now has some new toys to play with. JD talks about growing up around cars. Him and his Dad which he calls his best friend spent hours and hours working on cars and the stories and nothing but amazing. JD and his Dad have had many of their cars featured on magazine covers around the country. A true passion for old school cars. Thanks JD for taking the time to share your stories and no doubt this won't be the only episode we have with JD. Follow JD's business page too @loneoakhomes Thank you for listening and as always please leave a review and subscribe if you haven't already. Follow us on social media @thisisoklahoma / @randomcarguys / @ddrconcepts #thisisoklahoma

This is the first of our automotive segments for the new year. We've started a series around cars, trucks and anything with an engine. I have a huge passion for cars, so have decided with the help of my co host Heath Dean to start an automotive series to the podcast. You can follow this car segment on Instagram @randomcarguys I will post all Oklahoma car related episodes here but if you are a car nut! There will be more content coming to a new podcast called Random Car Guys soon. More in depth interviews and episodes about F1 races, car related Youtube channels etc. So if you're a car guy be sure to subscribe to Random Car Guys Podcast and follow @randomcarguys on Instagram. On this episode we sit down with local Ford Raptor legend and icon Mr Dustin Cowans also known as @snowyetiraptor on Instagram to talk about his insane Raptor build and his plans for the future with that truck. Dustin was born and raise in Stillwater. Grew up doing backroad country things like most kids growing up in the country. Trucks have always been present in his life and he's decided to come on the podcast to share some of what he's doing now. We've started a new page for the car show so please give that a follow @randomcarguys and look forward to many more episodes in 2020. Thanks for listening, please leave a review and subscribe if you haven't already. Follow us @thisisoklahoma and my co host @ddrconcepts #thisisoklahoma

It’s been far too long of a wait but I finally had my brother in law on the podcast. The guy I met in 2015 as a young college senior with questions about real estate. The guy who after some sarcasm from me about getting married to stay in the states replied with “ I have a sister in law that’s single, do you want to go on a double date?” Without this response I wouldn’t have met T. Wouldn’t have fallen in love and wouldn’t be here today with a brand centered around the love of Oklahoma. I think Chad just wanted a golfer in the family and offered me up to T with the hope that something might happen. To be fair to Chad, T had told him that he gets to choose her next boyfriend because she’d had some bad luck in the past. I’ll admit that sounds odd, however Chad is like a big brother to T. Chad started dating T’s sister Kendal when she was 8, so for 15 years Chad was pretty much family. Chad has been a great mentor to me in real estate, always someone to rely on and sets the example when it comes to being a father to his kids. Its funny, the girls will tell you we talk more than they do. Pretty much everyday there’s a call, text or DM fired off related to the most recent golf memes or current events. I’m extremely grateful for Chads friendship, mentorship and golf games on vacation. Thanks for offering your sister in law to me mate. Here’s to many more golf rounds in trips overseas in the future. Follow Chad here @chadmckamie #thisisoklahoma

On this episode I travelled to the capitol building to sit with Lt Gov Matt Pinnell. Matt Pinnell was elected as the 17th Lieutenant Governor of the State of Oklahoma on November 6th, 2018. In that role, he serves as President of the Oklahoma State Senate, and is a member of multiple constitutional boards and commissions. Lt. Governor Pinnell also serves as Secretary of Tourism and Branding on Governor Kevin Stitt’s cabinet. In his role as Secretary of Tourism and Branding, Pinnell oversees the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation and the state’s efforts to promote tourism, the third largest industry in Oklahoma. Pinnell is also leading the campaign to create a new brand for the State of Oklahoma. The OklaX branding effort has brought together a collection of the most creative minds in Oklahoma to create a new brand that will be unveiled in 2020. Pinnell also currently serves on the Department of Commerce executive committee focusing on small business growth and entrepreneurship. Pinnell has a background in entrepreneurship and is a small business owner with his wife, Lisa, who is an inventor and entrepreneur. Matt is a graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Advertising and lives in Tulsa with his wife and their 4 children who attend Jenks Public Schools. In short Matt is the lead salesman for Oklahoma to the rest of the world. His job is to bring tourists to our great state and we spoke about just that. Matt spends most of his days on the road traveling around our incredible state. I really enjoyed my time speaking with Lt Gov Pinnell and was very excited to hear the great things he's been working on for Oklahoma tourist. Tourism is our 3rd largest income source in the state and definitely needs more attention and marketing dollars. Lt Gov Matt Pinelle Podcast Minutes 3mins – growing up 5mins - ORU 7.15mins – 7.50 leadership on the radar 7.50-9mins – family 9mins-13.15 – Paris and travel route 66 promotion 13.15 – graduate university advertising 15mins social media in politics 16mins time in DC 17.20mins - public transportation in Oklahoma 18.30 –NE Oklahoma high school football and band 19.43mins-23mins – OKC v Tulsa 23.20mins- coming back from DC 24mins running the national party 25mins – always travelling 26mins – selling Oklahoma to other states and countries 29mins – going to Taiwan to sell Oklahoma 30mins – Czech Republic for route 66 convention 31.31mins – traveling the state 33mins – travel ok roadtrip – Oklahoma Ambassadors 34.20mins – Underrated events around the state 35.30mins – college towns 37mins – landrun100 38mins – Tulsa tough and Iron man Tulsa 39.43mins – bmx facility 40mins – 2019 atv takeover at little sahara 41mins – 2020 plans 43mins – instagram links 43mins – travel ok website free brochure Follow Matt here @ltgovpinnell Thanks for listening and as always please leave us a review, tell a friend or submit a story to us via email [email protected] Cheers, Mike

On this episode myself and Gann sat down with elite crossfire athlete Brooke Wells. Brooke burst onto the scene when she qualified for her first crossfire games at the age of 19. Fast forward to today and she's competed in 5 crossfire games. Brooke is the 2nd fittest woman in the nation and 11th fittest in the world! Let that sink in for a minute. She's an athlete! Brooke spent her high school years at Jenks in Tulsa and after graduating university with a business degree from Mizzou moved to Tulsa. Tulsa felt like home so it was the natural choice, a lot of Brooke's friends are here in Tulsa, she has a great gym there ( Crossfot T-Town ) so it all made sense. A year and a half has passed since Brooke graduated and has been able to commit her entire life to perfecting her craft. We had a blast talking to Brooke and hearing her share some of her best moments in crossfit and why she loves living in Tulsa. We can't thank Brooke enough for taking the time out of her day to record with us. Brooke doesn't do many podcasts which makes us even more grateful for her time. Below are the show notes, thank you to everyone that submitted a question for Brooke. We wish her all the best for 2020 and a healthy and successful crossfit career. Thanks for coming on Brooke! Follow Brooke here @brookewellss Follow Gann here @johngann Follow us here @thisisoklahoma If you like this episode please leave a review. It means the world to us. #thisisoklahoma Minutes: 1min – Why Tulsa / Why Oklahoma 3mins - NoBull video / Trip to Austria 4mins – Travel / Diet 5mins – Best Place You’ve Been to 7mins – Pre / Post Workout Routine 9mins – Cheat Meals 11mins – Being a Role Model 13mins – Young Women In Crossfit 15mins – Being Done With School 18mins – Gymnastics / Track 19mins – Mentally Tough 20mins – Sibling Competition 22mins – NoBull Video 24mins – Coffee Shop / Alec 25mins – Crossfit and Family 27mins – Sister Competition 28mins – PR’s 29mins – Typical Recovery Day 31mins – Sleep & Nutrition 35mins – Hardest Workout 36mins – Changes in Crossfit Games 38mins – Pre Games Routine 41mins – Training Partners 44mins – Favorite and Least Favorite movement 47mins – Mental Discipline 48mins – First Open Workout 53mins – Fan Questions 55mins – Plant Based and Vegan 58mins – Future living in Tulsa 60mins – Brooke’s Heros 62mins – Life After Crossfit 64mins – Faith

On this episode I sat down with Rep Cyndi Munson to talk a little about Oklahoma politics but mostly about her story, how she got into politics and how life in the house is in 2019. Munson became the first Asian-American woman elected to the Oklahoma Legislature. She has concentrated her legislative efforts on providing equal pay for equal work, strengthening the rights of survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, assisting Oklahoma’s veterans, and working to make life easier for our loved ones who suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia. Originally from Lawton, Cyndi developed her passion for public service at an early age. Her father’s military service taught Cyndi and her sister, Sandra, the importance of giving back. A first generation college student, Cyndi graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, where she earned a Master of Science in Leadership Education. Cyndi also spent a semester of her college experience studying at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Before her election to the Legislature, Cyndi spent a decade working and volunteering in Oklahoma City’s non-profit community. In her most recent work with Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma, she provided leadership programs for thousands of girls in low-income schools, juvenile detention centers, and public housing. Cyndi is a member of Leadership Oklahoma Class 31 and an alumni member of Leadership Oklahoma City’s LOYAL Class VIII. She serves on the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women, is a member of the Oklahoma Messages Project Board of Directors, and is the past chair of the Infant Crisis Services Young Professionals Group. Thanks for listening, follow Cyndi on Instagram here @cyndimunson Please leave a review, if you liked this episode I'd love to hear your thoughts. Cheers, Mike

On this episode I sat down with Christine Berney. Christine has worked with the thunder for 10 years. Since the organization came to town. We chatted all about what the Thunder does off the court for the community. All the thunder courts around the state, the events for children and many other events they organize to give back in anyway they can. It was really cool to hear everything the OKC Thunder Cares Foundation does. I know you've seen something related to the Thunder but to truly dive into it all was an honor. After all it is Oklahomans who run the foundation and naturally we are caring people. Christine was a blast to talk to and definitely someone who you should all connect with. Please follow them on Instagram @thundercares The work they do is second to non and it makes a huge impact in our community all year round. Thanks for listening and please leave us a review. Cheers, Mike #thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sit down with my cofounders of a greeting card business called Agreetable. Agreetable.com is a new greeting card company founded because we're tired of paying too much for inadequate quality cards. Last minute dashes to Walgreens and CVS will be no more. 10 cards for $25 you can mix and match your cards. Sent directly to your home ready to be used. We pride ourselves on the quality of our cards and the designs printed on the front of them. This company is founded by Ryan Johnston (Oklahoman) & Chris Cohenour (Oklahoman) and Mike Hearne (Welshman). Our goal is to make life easier for you when buying the best greeting cards. Check out www.agreetable.com and on all social media platforms @agreetable Thanks for listening. We appreciate it. #thisisoklahoma

On this episode me and Kennon @tuurk sat down with the king of Boomerangs Les Wu @leswoo to talk camera, videography, drone and all other creative things. Les basically grew up in Norman. His family moved here when he was 1 years old so his father could study at OU. After high school he studied advertising at TU in Austin but after enjoying himself too much came back to Norman to study at OU. Les changed his degree a few times, and then did his MBA and after trying a bunch of things settled in the world of corporate finance. Les likes his hobbies, in the sense that if he has a hobby he's all in on it. However like he said in the interview. He'd get bored easily and move onto the next thing. That was until his brother bought him a drone. He was hooked on videography and naturally progressed after immersing himself in YouTube tutorials and naturally being very good at it. After 2 and half years of hard work and learning he since quit his job in corporate finance and is now a full time freelance videographer. Follow Les on Instagram and you'll soon realize his talent. www.leswu.com Follow Kennon here @tuurk www.wildagain.co Thanks for listening and please leave a review below. Cheers, Mike

On this episode I sat down with artist Kris Kanaly. Kris is known around OKC for his amazing Bricktown underpass and his huge role in Plaza Walls. He's done some amazing things over the past four years with his team The Oklahoma Mural Syndicate and continues to blow us all away with his vibrant public artwork. Kris was born here, grew up loving cars and graffiti. He moved away briefly to Portland before coming back to OKC. Since coming back he's been a huge part in the increased public artwork across the city and state. The non profit he's a part of have painted 130 murals in just 4 years. He's an asset to our state and the arts community across the nation. We love his work and can't wait to see what 2020 has for him. Follow him @pyramidguy on Instagram and online at www.kriskanaly.com If you don't already know about the public are in The Plaza District, check out @plazawalls you'll be blown away. As always thanks for listening and please drop down below and leave a review. It means the world. Cheers, Mike.

On this episode I sat down with owners and founders of Red Coyote Running. Jon & Burke met working for one of the nations largest running stores. Both with a passion for running and had ran in college they naturally gravitated to the sport and the industry surrounding it. Living in sunny California and managing a store there seemed like the life. What would happen over the next few years would have them coming back to Burke's hometown to set up their own store. A great story and one that forced them into building the running culture here in town because there wasn't one. OKC was one of the unhealthiest cities at the time and well, nobody ran or walked anywhere. Come to present day and they have two awesome stores, a great running culture and a some of the best employees you'll find. They are knowledgeable, kind and genuinely love running. I know, there's people out there that love to run. I didn't think I was one of them, but having recently signed up for my first ultra marathon. I am now a runner. Enjoy this episode. Its a great story and no doubt you'll want to buy a pair of kiss ass new shoes to walk or run around your neighborhood in. You can follow them on Instagram @redcoyoterunning or on their new website www.redcoyoterunning.com Thanks for listening and as always, please leave a review. It means the world. Cheers, Mike

On this episode I sat down with Jared Kinley a commercial film photographer and Josie Pierson a model, stylist and barbering student to talk everything about the art of photography. Jared and Josie met on a shoot and instantly hit it off. With their love for music forging the connection between them they began working together. Josie has a passion for styling while Jared has had a camera with him for as long as he can remember. They became a great team and have continued to build their brand and relationship off that very teamwork. They created a magazine called Lost Era, which can be found @losteramagazine and losteramagazine.com Jared is continuing to perfect his craft shooting models as often as possible. While Josie attends barbering school and continues to style the models Jared shoots. They have created a boot camp, for aspiring models to learn the craft. How to prepare for shoots, be professional, and know how to pose and how to insure they are well taken care of an empowered by the person behind the lens. Jared and Josie do a fantastic job of making their models feel empowered. In such an industry where there is so much negative attention around what they do. These two have made it their number one priority to make sure the model is taken care of. I had a great time chatting to both Jared and Josie and hope you enjoy listening to. They are young hardworking individuals and make a great team. I'm excited to see them grow and perfect their business in to the New Year. Keep your eyes out for the next issue of Lost Era Magazine and if you want to learn the ins and outs of the trade be sure to sign up for their boot camp asap. You can follow Jared here @jaredwkinley and Josie here @josiepierson Thanks for listening and as always, please leave a review. Cheers, Mike

On this episode me and Logan from @edibleexcellence sat down with A Good Egg Dining Group founders Keith and Heather Paul. Now if that names not familiar their concepts definitely are. Barrios, Red Prime, Tuckers, Mexican Radio, Museum Cafe, Kitchen 324, Republic, The Drake, Iron Star and of course the original concept Cheever's. We dive into all their concepts and how they started. from day one with Cheever's to most recently Mexican Radio. Next year is the 20th anniversary of Cheever's restaurant and we couldn't be more happy for Keith and Heather. They have an amazing history of hardwork through all the ups and downs have built a successful business. A huge part of the emerging food scene in OKC. We can't wait to see what they come up with next. Thanks for listening and if you haven't eaten at one of there concepts you should do so asap! Follow them here @foodpeopleokc Follow Logan @edibleexcellenceokc Follow us here @thisisoklahoma Please leave a review and rate this podcast. Much love. Mike

On this episode me and Kennon ( podcast guest #92 ) sat down to interview Randy Sudderth of Sudderth Design. A master builder and designer of some of the most sort after homes in Nichols Hills. Randy is a native Oklahoman who has been renovating homes in the Nichols Hills and Crown Heights communities for over fifteen years. He believes in maintaining the integrity of each and every home. It is the existing structure that lays the foundation for every design and construction decision. Randy is involved in the entire process from start to finish. Sudderth Design is known for the meticulous care, attention to detail and flawless finishes. Because of this, homes sell before going on the market. Follow Randy on Instagram at @sudderthdesign and check out his work online at www.sudderthdesign.com Thanks to my co-host Kennon on Instagram @tuurk and online at www.tkrb.co Thanks for listening, follow us @thisisoklahoma and please leave a review, it means the world. Cheers, Mike

On this episode I sat down with Oklahoma Olympian Jeff Bennett. Myself and Justin Lenhart of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame have partnered up to interview Oklahoma HOF's to create more awareness for the inductees. Follow the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame @oksportshof. Jeff Bennett was raised in Vinita, Oklahoma and graduated from Vinita High School in 1966. He was the state champion in the pole vault, and placed in the top 3 in long jump during his senior year. Bennett attended Oklahoma Christian College, 1966-1970, and is considered the greatest athlete in Oklahoma Christian University’s history. While at Oklahoma Christian, he won the NAIA championship in the decathlon in 1969 and 1970. In 1968, he was the NAIA champion in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles and was runner-up in the pole vault in 1970. The four-time NAIA All-American still holds Oklahoma Christian records in the 400 hurdles (51.44 seconds) and the decathlon (8,071 points). He received his bachelor’s degree in science education and later completed a master’s degree in school counseling. Bennett was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1976 and was a charter honoree of the Oklahoma Christian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991. Upon graduation from Oklahoma Christian, Bennett was drafted by the U.S. Army. While in the army, he competed in the army track and field program. He won the International Military Games decathlon in 1971 and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team in 1972. As a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team, Bennett placed fourth in the decathlon with 7,974 points at the Olympic Games in Munich. He set a personal record of 8,121 points when he won the American Amateur Union national decathlon championship in 1973. Bennett served as Oklahoma Christian’s assistant track and field coach from 1974 to 1985. He spent 28 years in public education, working as a teacher, counselor and administrator for school districts in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. In 2003, he retired as a lieutenant colonel after serving for 32 years in the U.S. Army National Guard. Jeff began his second stint as an Oklahoma Christian assistant track and field coach in 2003, working primarily with field-event and multi-event competitors. In addition to his coaching duties, Bennett also served as associate dean of students from 2003 to 2016, when he retired from that position. In 2007, Jeff Bennett was named as one of the top 100 Oklahoma athletes of the state’s first 100 years by The Oklahoman. Bennet lives in Edmond, Oklahoma with wife, Lisa. They have 2 daughters, Lauren Weeks and Raley Bennett. He continues to coach track and field at Oklahoma Christian University. Thanks for listening make sure to follow @oksportshof and us here @thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sat down with musician and co-founder of OKSessions, Christian Pearson. Christian has had a passion for music his whole life, he grew up around it and so naturally he became good at it. Very good. He continued to play through high school and then in OU's The Pride of Oklahoma. After graduation Christian started working in Banking, a real world job that really didn't tick all the boxes for him. He found himself still playing regularly, practicing on his lunch hour and longing for OKC to have a solid music scene. Lightbulb moment, birth of OKSessions. "OkSessions is all about treating local music the way we treat local food. We believe each locale has it’s own unique artistic flavor, and we believe music is the voice of a culture. Cities that are present and engaged with their local artists influence the rest of the world and thrive economically. Live music is exceptional at merging ‘bubbles’ in a community and fostering integration in a city. It gets people together who wouldn’t normally hang out, and makes it easy to find common ground with people from different backgrounds. I want to walk out of my house and step into a city filled with music, whether it’s mine or someone else’s. OkSessions is a media hub that gets people excited about local music and makes it accessible to get into the scene. We regularly publish new articles about OKC’s live music renaissance. Follow us on social media and join our email lists if you believe what we believe about music." So with this mission Christian is changing OKC one night at a time. You can see him perform regularly around town, especially in the holiday season. Check out www.christianpearson.me and www.oksessions.com for more. Get out, get those feet tapping, bounce around a lose yourself in music. You deserve it. Follow Christian here @christian.pearson and @oksessions Follow us here @thisisoklahoma Thanks for listening, Mike

On this episode I sat down with artist Matt Goad. He began is art career in graphic design and illustration in the mid 90 to early 90's. Woodblock printing and it’s hard edged graphic aesthetic helped inform Goad’s modern style which he would take into the realm of paintings in the mid 2000s. Passionate about color and composition his modern linear approach utilizes interlocking identifiable symbols and shapes in a compositional flow that pulls the viewer through a narrative. Whimsical, geometric, simple and complex, Goad’s work is easily accessible to the public and enjoyed by many, young and old, and across cultural identities. I had a great time talking with Matt, he's a petrolhead! Loves German automobiles and Japanese bikes. He loves music, plays guitar and has centered in many bands over the years. He's currently gearing up for a huge project next year. The OKC Airport expansion is taking place and he's designed a monster piece for it. As he said in the interview, "everyone going through OKC is now going to walk all over Matt Goad." A joke I sense he's said a few times. Matt's a huge part of the art culture here in Oklahoma. His unique style is very recognizable. Lots of bold colors and wild shapes. Its pretty incredible from someone who knows nothing about art. Not that knowing anything about it can help, because to me art is art. It can be anything you want it to be. Like the curves of a Porsche 911 or the bashing of musical instruments to create sound. Anyway, listen to the podcast. You'll quickly realize that Matt's a great guy. He loves what he does and won't be stopping anytime soon. Follow him on Instagram here @mattgoadart Check out his website and OKC Airport project here www.mattgoad.com As always, thanks for listening and please leave a review, even if its hateful. Love you all. Mike

On this episode of our food related podcast myself and Logan @edibleexcellenceokc sat down with Brittany and Janie from Mickey Mantle's. @mickeymantles to talk history of the restaurant, current events and the common misconception about the restaurant. Brittany has been at Mickey Mantle's for 15 years; she started working at the restaurant as a hostess and worked her way up to event planning. She chairs the Warren Spahn awards where they award the best left-handed pitcher in MLB. Through this she’s met many professional ball players such as Clayton Kershaw. We talk a lot about the celebrities who've eaten at the restaurant from Bert Kreisher, Shaq, news correspondents, Mel Gibson and most of the people who play at the Chesapeake or Criterion. The Happy Hour is were it's really at. Not only are drinks cheaper, but there's free finger food. Every Sunday thru Friday 4.30pm -7pm You need to experience it. Not to mention the free limo rides to Thunder Games and concerts at the Chesapeake Arena. Make sure to follow @MickeyMantles Logan @edibleexcellenceokc Us @thisisoklahoma Subscribe and leave a review. It means the world to us. #thisisoklahoma

On this episode of our food related podcasts myself and Logan @edibleexcellenceokc sat down with Eric & Jenny from Scottie's Deli @scottiesdeliokc A local deli located on 23rd St right next to Tower Theater. Eric's love of food comes from his grandmother as well as the name. She was of Scottish decent, and owned her own deli in California called "Big John's Submarine Sandwiches" However, as much as Eric wanted to use the name in OKC. It runs a little close to similar competitors names so he settled on Scottie's a homage to his family heritage. Eric prides his business on providing the best food made from scratch in house for an extremely affordable price. He's won many awards for his efforts. Awards sometimes outside of the sandwich world such as chilli's and most recently Cookie and Cocktails where he won awards on both sides of the board. His passion for food and drinks is intoxicating. Just listening to him talk about his process makes you want to learn how to cook and master the art of crafting a perfect cocktail. They are a treasure in OKC and we are lucky to have them. Do yourself a favor and get down to Scottie's Deli. Especially for the holiday season because the Early Bird sandwich is coming soon! P.S DON'T ASK FOR SCOTTIE AND LEAVE A GREAT REVIEW ON YELP! www.scottiesdeliokc.com 427 NW 23rd St Oklahoma City, OK 73103 Monday – Thursday 10:00AM – 8:00PM ​Friday – Saturday 10:00AM – 9:00PM ​Sunday 10:00AM –5:00PM Tel: 405.604.8940 Email: [email protected] Thanks for listening, leave a review and please subscribe for many more episodes to come. Cheers, Mike #thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sit down with former OU Golfer Phillip Bryan. Phil was born and raised in Mustang Oklahoma. Golf was always part of his life growing up, his older brother started to play, which led him into the game. Playing a lot of local tournaments growing up. He qualified for the Junior PGA Championship held in California. Knocked on doors to raise money and traveled out to that tournament, the first time he'd been competing a long way from home. He won! Which put him on the radar for college golf. Both OU & OSU came knocking offering a scholarship and help to be at school there. Inevitably he chose OU. Phil played alongside some of the best in college golf, most notably his teammate Anthony Kim who has a wild story worthy of a Google search. Phil got into coaching after school, became the assistant at OU and then moved to Louisville for a short stint before realizing that golf was no more and it was time to get a job. Through the OU program a gentleman reached out and offered Phil a job in commercial insurance where he is today. Listen in as Phil tells stories from his OU days, coaching and still trying to play as much golf as he can between being a father and working commercial insurance. As always thanks for listening, leave a review and drop us a DM @thisisoklahoma for who you'd like to hear next. Cheers, Mike #thisisoklahoma

DJ LITE BRITE A graduate of SWOSU Jalen Dorsey started his DJ career in college back in Weatherford Oklahoma. Doing at house parties and then a local spot called JC Cowboys he soon amassed a local following. After gradating and moving to OKC he continued to perfect his craft, took advantage of every opportunity that came his way. With the use of social media he published his skills to the gram and his following continued to grow. DJ Lite Brite was a huge part of Fassler Halls new nightclub scene, after 40 shows there he's become a household name. Listen in as we talk about the OKC night scene, Oklahoma's music scene. His travels to festivals in Arkansas and opening for Snoop at Topgolf earlier this year. Please send all your love and prayers to the Dorsey family, as they get ready to welcome their second girl into the family. You can follow Jalen on Instagram @DJLITEBRITE93 Search DJ LITE BRITE on google and you'll see all you need. He's an incredible talent and he's only getting started. Thanks again for listening and as always, leave a review and comment who you'd like to hear next. Cheers, Mike #thisisoklahoma

Kennon TKRB Podcast Kennon – (The Man with Four Names) He's is a good friend of mine, so this podcast is kind of more of a chat amongst friends than an actual interview. His favorite word is RAD and the phrase he lives by is “wild again” which he explains in the podcast. Listen in as we talk about how he became a residential real estate photographer, travels the world, and now shoots commercial buildings for fancy magazines in OKC. Follow him here on Instagram @tuurk ( story behind that name also in the podcast, spoiler alert he's not Turkish ) Follow and book him here www.tkrb.co Thanks for listening and as always please subscribe, review and comment on who you'd like to hear next. Cheers, Mike #thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sat down with entrepreneurial couple Dustin and Hannah Green. Owners of many businesses around the OKC / Edmond area. You will be most familiar with Green Goodies the amazing cupcake bakery located in Classen Curve now in its 10th year!!! As well as Hannah's Barre3 OKC & Edmond franchise locations which she is the co-owner of with her friend Carly. Not to forget Dustin's latest business Wilder Coffee Supply named after their son Finn Wilder. Dustin & Hannah are Oklahoman's through and through, they met in high school stayed friends and then after Dustin returned from Colorado hit it back off and shortly after they were married. That's the short version, don't want to spoil the story too much for you. Living in Tulsa for a while working 9-5 jobs they always had their eyes on some side hustle and passion. Hannah had her eyes on Green Goodies in OKC and kept telling the owner that Tulsa needed a store. As fate would show up they were presented with an opportunity not to be wasted. The owners of Green Goodies wanted out and came straight to Hannah to see if they wanted to take over in OKC. This is where is all gets interesting and the story begins to come alive. Listen in as Dustin and Hannah tell their story about Green Goodies, Barre3 and now Wilder Coffee Co. Follow them on social media here: @greengoodies @wildercoffeesupply @barre3okc @barre3edmond Online here: www.wilder.coffee/details www.greengoodiesokc.com www.barre3.com/studio-locations/oklahoma-city They're doing an incredible job of running three businesses and we can't wait to see what the future holds for the Green family. Thanks for listening and as always please subscribe and review the podcasts. Mike #thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sat down with Bruce Waight Sr. This bio below was written by Oklahoma Black Entrepreneurs. It hits everything about Bruce and is by far better than anything I could have put together. Go follow @oklahomablackentrepreneurs on social media and on their website www.oklahomablackentrepreneurs.com • Bruce Waight Sr. is a father, professional barber, community advocate, and CEO from San Antonio, TX. After graduating from barber college in 2011 Bruce received his professional barbering license from the Oklahoma State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering. In 2014, Bruce, along with co-founder Vanessa Morrison; a non-profit professional and graduate from the OU College of Architecture's Regional and City Planning Graduate Program, wanted to change how people experience and access the barbershop space and culture, with a vision of eliminating obstacles and barriers. In 2015 they purchased a 1960 Airstream Landyacht, and restored and transitioned their vintage trailer into Oklahoma's first full service, self-sustaining barbershop. Bruce was also integral in getting legislation passed to help make mobile barbershops legal in the state of Oklahoma and launched in July of 2017. He was then appointed by the Governor's office to serve on the Oklahoma Barber and Cosmetology Board and currently sits as the Barber representative and the Legislative Liaison. In 2017 he expanded his entrepreneurial career and opened up his first storefront barbershop, Rooted Barber + Shop. Rooted hosts Oklahoma's first Artist in Residency Barbershop program, and a myriad of community events. Additionally, he is the co-founder of Cut it Forward; a non-profit dedicated to providing culturally specific hair and skin care for foster and adopted youth of color and is the founder of the Hair Collaborative; a collective providing free barbering services onsite at the Homeless Alliance’s Day shelter. • For more information: • Rooted Barber + Shop Website: www.rootedokc.com Address: 3515 N. Classen Blvd. OKC, OK Twitter: @rootedokc Instagram: @rootedokc Facebook: Rooted Barber + Shop Phone number: (405) 601-0154 En Root Mobile Barbershop Company Website: www.enrootokc.com Twitter: @enrootokc Instagram: @enrootokc Facebook: En Root Mobile Barbershop Company Email: [email protected] Cut it Forward Website: www.cutitforward.org Twitter: @cutitforward Instagram: @cutitforward Facebook: Cut it Forward #OBE Thanks for listening and as always, please rate and review the podcast. Leave a comment for who I should interview next. #thisisoklahoma Cheers, Mike.

This is a special podcast to raise awareness and money for a very special young man, Clark. Clark at 30 days old was diagnosed with an incurable genetic disease that makes his body unable to break down certain proteins. The protein, that comes through food and nutrition that is required to live, builds up as an acid in the blood and wreaks havoc on this little boys body. Despite his medical issues, Clark is happy, sweet, 6 year old little boy that changes the life of everyone that he meets. This year Cycle Bar Classen Curves, Body Heart and Soulfest is aimed at raising funds for Clarks foundation. A non-profit organization, whose mission is to raise awareness of these rare genetic diseases, such as MMA and advance the use of gene therapy as a curative treatment. On Sunday the 13th of October, you can help raise money for Clark buying signing up to this festival via the link on the @bodyheartandsoulfest Instagram page. This is the not end of Clarks fundraising, Jessica his mother is the only one running Clarks foundation and can use all the help she can get. Raising Clark and his two other siblings is hard enough without having to raise money. So please, give anything you can to help A Cure For Clark and I hope to see you all there on Sunday afternoon outside Cafe 501 in Classen Curve. #thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sit down with founder, entrepreneur, designer, husband, father Mr Ashton Owens. Ashton was born near Branson Missouri into a big family. Although growing up was different for him compared to his older siblings Ashton saw his father own multiple businesses, love his mother and take the family on many trips around the world. His father instilled good business practices in him and his siblings, from a young age making them have jobs and reading The Richest Man in Babylon. After his father tragic passing, at the age of 17 Ashton naturally needed some time to soul search and figure out what he wanted to do with his life. Through the guidance of his then girlfriend and soon to be wife, they moved out of town to Joplin in and shortly after were hit by the tornado that devastated the community. They reached a crossroads. With nothing to keep them in Joplin, an opportunity presented itself in OKC so they made the move in 2011. A love of basketball from a young age definitely helped them move to OKC, although at the time OKC was in the very early stages of its growth. Ashton sensed a great feeling from the community here after working at a non-profit his design work which he'd been doing on the side took off. Ultimately leading to him closing to dive in full time. I won't spoil the story for you anymore, listen in as Ashton how he put a huge emphasis on networking his entire career, by always doing his best for no matter what the outcome is. Seeing this all leading to where he and his team are at now and the incredible people he's met and worked with along his journey. This is just the beginning for Studio Flight (most known around town for their involvement with the OKC Thunder and Eote Coffee) I hope this helps you understand the brand and Ashton a little more. I have huge respect for the adversity he's overcome and he is proof that with hard work and determination. You don't need a college degree to get to where you want to be. Enjoy the episode, as always leave a review and subscribe for many more stories to come. Follow Ashton here @amowens23 and @studio_flight or see their work www.studioflight.com Do yourself a favor and start whatever it is you want to do. Prioritize your friendships, build new ones, sent emails, messages, letters. Connect with whoever you have to connect with and turn your idea into life. Thanks for listening, Mike #thisisoklahoma

On today's podcast we share possibly the best story we've ever had the opportunity to share. Felipe & Schay both grew up in Brazil and moved to OKC. They met when Felipe interviewed Schay for a position at his work. Although things didn't workout at Schays new job and she started a new position at an oil and gas company in downtown OKC. Schay worked extremely hard (90hour weeks) found herself bringing work home and making a huge difference in the company she worked for. However, when her manager got the recognition for all his (her) hard work. She decided enough was enough. This was the day Felipe & Schay started to dive into what we call today as the "flip game" buying items at garage sales, thrift stores and estate sales and selling them on Facebook, eBay and now their website and business Angel Heart Boutique. The first item they flipped was a Barbie set, bought for $4 and sold for $80, they were hooked! Today they have a multi million dollar business, inc 500, metro 50 winners (fastest growing company in OKC 2018 & 2019) with a growth of over 900% in three years. Listen in as they share their story, how they quit both their day jobs and now have the life they dreamed of. Follow them here: @angelheartboutique @schaysilva @felipe.resende Thanks for listening and as always leave a review and comment on who you think should be our next interview. #thisisoklahoma

Scott Lewis Jr, a self made successful entrepreneur shares his story on today's podcast. Scott grew up in Edmond is the eldest of three kids. His younger brother who he would eventually go into business with and his younger sister. Scott was raised in an entrepreneurial family, his father a loving pastor had many side jobs, which turned into larger national businesses. He always taught his sons to be entrepreneurial, to sell anything they could to make money for the things they wanted to do. Scott shares his stories from those days walking door to door on the streets of Edmond. How these practices at a young age molded him into the salesman and entrepreneur he is today. Scott has seen his fair share of adversities over his time and talks about how he's overcome those adversities, how he plans to use what he's learned to change lives today and how motivation has been a great way for him to give back to over 600,000 people on his social media platform @millionaire_motivator Follow Scott here @scottlewisjr Thanks for listening, as always please rate and leave a review on the podcast. #thisisoklahoma Cheers Mike @thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sit down with Major Ed Pulido. Major Ed Pulido, U.S. Army (Ret.) is the Sr. VP of the Folds of Honor Foundation a Veteran’s charity which provides the spouses and children of the fallen and wounded educational scholarships. Additionally, he is a Founding member of Warriors for Freedom Foundation a leadership institute focused on the mental, physical and wellness support of our wounded Veterans and their families. He is the spokesperson for AROGA Health. Finally, Major Ed is the Founder of Warrior Nation, a movement focused on the rights of liberty, freedom and patriotism with an autobiography entitled Warrior for Freedom: Challenge, Triumph and Change, the Major Ed Pulido Story. On the 17th of August, 2004, Major Pulido hit an Improvised Explosive Device (I.E.D) or roadside bomb while serving with the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team under the command of General David Petraeus. Due to the extensive injuries to his left knee, doctors had to amputate his left leg on October 1, 2004. For his heroism and valor on that August day, the President of the United States along with General David Petraeus awarded him the Bronze Star with Valor, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, and Joint Service Commendation and Achievement Medals. Today Major Ed spends is time traveling the country talking to businesses, charities etc spreading the word of his experience and how he has overcome adversity. You can follow him here @majoredpulido on his website here at www.majored.org www.warriorsforfreedom.org www.foldsofhonor.org Us here @thisisoklahoma Thanks for listening and as always rate and review this podcast. Mike

On this episode myself and local food blogger Logan from @edibleexcellenceokc sat down with Jonathon Stranger to talk about his concepts and newest concept Bar Cicchetti. Jonathon Stranger's family of restaurants are among the most popular in Oklahoma City. Today we talked about his career in the hospitality industry, the acquisition of Prairie Wolf Distillery, the partnership with acclaimed restauranteur Fabio Viviani and some exciting future projects. It was an absolute pleasure to sit down with Logan and Jonathon for this episode, really excited to hear all your reviews on his new concept. Thanks for listening, Follow us here: @thisisoklahoma @edibleexcellenceokc @jonathan.stranger #thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sat down with the first ever signing for Energy FC Michael Thomas and fellow team mate Coady Andrews. Both players grew up in Kansas and shared many stories about their childhood. The Energy FC are in a pivotal time with MAPS 4 coming to light and the hope of a new downtown soccer stadium in the plans. This would be huge for the city and the Energy FC community. Soccer is a huge sport and has grown every year since coming to OKC in 2014. Both Michael and Coady share many stories from their time at the Energy as well as what they do for a living now which is Soccer Allies. Soccer Allies found here online soccerallies.com is a facility where they provide the best option for recreational and academy youth soccer players outside of team practices to develop a better understanding of when, why, and how to use deceptive touches or skills. Using a challenging but enjoyable program, players are given opportunities to fall in love with the game at a young age. Listen in as both Energy vets tell us all about youth soccer and how your kids can benefit from their amazing program here in OKC. Thanks for listening and as always please rate and review the podcast. #thisisoklahoma Mike

On todays podcast episode I sat down with Noah Elias founder of Stars & Stripes Company. Noah works his ass off to provide for his wife and young daughter. He's worked hard from a young age. One day working for his uncle he decided to make an American flag out of wood to hang above the barn doors. Noah took great pride in his work and produced a flag that he was proud of. Many orders came in from his uncles friends and the business was born. Working two sometimes three jobs at a time, bodybuilding and working in medical sales. Noah kept his flag business going, hand carving flags for friends, family and others. The orders kept coming in. At this point in time Noah has put his flags in the hands of many famous people. As you'll hear in the interview, thats not what keeps him going. What keeps him going is the American man who's paid for this flag with his hard earned cash. The man who works hard, supports his country and will do anything to provide for his family. The men overseas protecting this nation we all live in. The American man and woman that is untied under these stars and stripes. Its an exciting time for Noah and his business and it was an absolute pleasure to sit and share his story. Follow him here @starsandstripesco and www.starsandstripesco.com #thisisoklahoma Thanks for listening and as always follow our guest and leave a review. #thisisoklahoma

Not Just A College Pastor — Timmy Riggs College friend Timmy Riggs had no idea what he wanted to do in college. He changed his major 5 times, didn’t value school, his grades and loved Netflix. Move on 8 years and he’s a college pastor at one of the biggest churches in the Nazarene denomination and multiple business owner. I met Timmy at SNU and i’ll be honest he was kind of a pain in the ass. What non Americans call a “typical American” loud, cocky and walking on clouds in a world of his own. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Over the past year i’ve gotten to know Timmy more and more. He’s developed the ability to command an audience on stage, has more passion for his job and others that rivals Danny Thomason and is truly a great human. We finally sat down to record a podcast to share some of his story and how he’s ended up at BFC is quite remarkable. Timmy came to SNU, walked on the football team as a QB. Quickly realizing QB1 wasn’t going to be happen, he did what he said he’d been doing since highschool and that was just enough to be on the team. If you know Timmy, its definfiley his humor that kept him around. To be fair to him, he’s pretty funny. After ending his first semester with 0.6 GPA he knew something had to change. But what, he didn't know. Teaching, ministry, business he tried them all. Growing up as a pastors kid, the ministry scene was normal. Seeing his Dad up there every Wednesday / Sunday fully living the life he preached about. A great role model. At the end of 5 years Timmy was offfered a positon in Arizona as a youth pastor. After a year there BFC called and this is where he had to put some trust in them and believe that this was a good move. BFC didn't really have a full time position available, but he knew he would grow more of he made the move. So he packed up the car and drove back to OKC. This was the first time I’d seen Timmy since college, the real Timmy not the loud cocky American i’d always thought he was. I remember the first time I heard him speak to the college group. Even though he’ll tell you he works extremely hard at looking like a natural up there. He just had this ability to capture you, take you away from your phone and make you want to listen to what he had to say. ( NOT EASY IN TODAYS WORLD ) Timmy moved into the full time role of being BFC’s college pastor last year and blew it out of the water. Every Wednesday college kids come to hangout, hear him preach, connect with friends, eat great food and get away from college stress for a few hours. In November of that first semester, Timmy started a window cleaning business https://www.facebook.com/streakerswindow/ with buddy Bryton. Timmy’s Dad told him from a young age, you dont get into ministry to make money so start a side business to supplement your income. The side business was born, but its November who wants clean windows in November? How do they get the word out. Bryton came up with the idea of Christmas Lights. They made a video and within a few days they had 31 houses on the schedule. From that money they bought all the equioment they needed for Streakers to become a thing. Jan 1 they were off. After almost a year they have 4 employees multiple business accounts, get up at 4.30am to clean windows before school and work. Nothing will stop them making this a successful business. Another business Timmy has wanted to be involved in is real estate. Every business book he’s read points to real estate more specifically owning it. Timmy calls me one day and says, "we want to buy a duplex” baring in mind Emma and Timmy live in an apartment right now and don’t have their own home. (Not your normal first property purchase, but one that makes total sense) We searched high and low for the perfect duplex and came across this history property near downtown OKC. Perfect. They have remodeled it and currently in the process of moving tenants in. One of my favortie quotes from our interview together, Timmy was explaining how Emma is level all the time. Compared to him where he’s 100mph then 10mph then back to 100. He’s got more ideas than he knows what to do with so he says. “i’m going to do them all until Ican’t do them anymore” It hit me after hearing it again while editing the podcast. Most people just punch in punch out, go home watch tv and repeat. They don’t realize that this is the life we have and its only once we get to live it. ( as far as we know ) Timmy lives life to the full, doesn’t waste any seconds of the day and absolutly loves doing it. Whatever it is that you enjoy doing, do that. Don’t put it off until you have time. You have time you just choose not to use it the way you should. Anyway enough bragging about my mate Timmy Riggs. Come to Wednesday nights at BFC from 9pm til 10.30 and you’ll see what I'm talking about. And go follow STREAKERS WINDOW CLEANING! Thanks for listening, as always leave a review and any recommendations to who I can interview next! Cheers Mike @thisisoklahoma

From Fired to Successful Online Business 3 in Months Kerry Egeler from Broken Arrow Oklahoma, founder and owner of The OKC TEE SHOP. Kerry’s background. Kerry was fired from his job just a few years ago and finally his brother in law ( an online marketing, business building coach ) said, “ now will you trust me and let me help you build your online business?” Kerry took the jump with a young child and one on the way he dove into building his online t-shirt business. Within a few months of OKC Thunder basketball his busienss was profitable. Kerry built his business with the help of his brother in-law with zero start up money. All online, all drop shipped product, no inventory. Just a website, social media accounts and his creativity designing Thunder themed t-shirts. Kerry’s biggest advantage over his competition is speed. If something happens at a Thunder game, someone tweets a quote, gets in the media whatever it is. Kerry can turn that into a t-shirt design and its live on the website within hours. For example the recent Baker Mayfield chugging a beer at that baseball game was on a t-shirt and online within hours. With the help of social media marketing, these t-shirts are on the market. Unlike his competition who have to print these designs, and have inventory at their store and online which takes weeks. Speed is the key. Today we thrive on speed, instant gratification is our drug. From Amazon Prime delivery in hours, ordering food, buying concert tickets. Speed is our favorite drug, we HATE waiting for more than we need to, when wifi is slow its the worst thing in the world! Right? After a few years Kerry as his online business down to a tee. (pun totally intended) He’s working on building online courses to show others how this can be done, how you can start your online business with zero start up money and have sales within hours. Great news for This is Oklahoma fans, our t-shirts will be up on the website www.okcteeshop.com available for purchase. If you want to learn more about Kerry’s business send him a message on Instagram @okcteeshop. Thanks for listening and as always, please leave a review 5* preferred. #thisisoklahoma Mike

Not Just A Hospital — Healthcare Philanthropy — The Integris Foundation A very emotional podcast with Jon and Anne at the Integris Foundation. For this interview I sat down with Jonathon McCoy and Anne Clouse to talk about healthcare philanthropy. A lot of people see the Integris centers across the metro and think it’s just a hospital. Personally I hate hospitals, the smell and the color of the décor. For me hospitals are a bad place, or I thought they were. To clarify, this is from my experience back in the UK. Jon and Anne came on the podcast to share their personal stories about how Integris has played a huge part of their lives and how they through their work at the foundation help those who need it. There are many inspirational stories from this podcast but I’ll just touch on a couple of them. Integris is the largest Oklahoma governed health institution and it’s a non-profit. All the money is reinvested in the business and caring for those in need through the foundations. Jon has two sets of twins. How awesome is that! Both his twins had care at Integris and seeing that his gift back to fertility helped pay for the equipment that they used to care for his wife and then his twins once they were born. I asked Jon and Anne what they think of when they hear their mission statement “ Your passion changes lives” Both shared the story of Sarah Brumley who was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer with a 6% chance of living more than 5 years. Sarah worked with the Integris cancer institute and the integrated medicine program, which is a holistic way to help patients through their diagnosis. This is not covered by insurance. So Sarah and the Integris Foundation challenged everyone at the Integris Gala to raise money for her project to help others without the ability to pay for this program. At the Gala Sarah’s goal was to raise $5000. At the end of the night 700 guests raised $189,000. Sarah’s passion for helping others from her diagnosis is now a fully funded program in the Integris Foundation. Sarah survived 4 years and sadly passed but she’s left this legacy behind and cared for hundreds of others. If you’ve ever given anything to charity and had a personal connection to that person or the lives you have impacted the high is hard to explain. Anne mentions that high is almost a selfish feeling to helping people because the high she gets from changing someone’s life is so good, she wants to keep doing it. I asked Jon and Anne how working here at the Foundation and in healthcare philanthropy impacted how you see the world. How it impacts your day-to-day life. They both mentioned perspective, how raising 35Million for their Arcadia Trails project seems like too big of a task. But after hard work they received multiple seven figure donations. Seeing who is giving and the way they are giving is comforting regardless of how much it is, they want to give is. Events coming up, the foundation has a golf tournament on October 22ndat Jimmie Austin GC in Norman. This is going to be one of the best events you have ever played in. If you would like to donate reach out to integrisgolf.org If you are a food vendor and want to donate or be a part of the event also reach out to the website above. Thanks for reading I hope this gives you a better incite into The Integris Foundation. Follow them on social media Integris Foundation. Integrisgiving.org and sign up to their monthly newsletter to see the difference that’s being made. Mike @thisisoklahoma

This was such a greta interview, Chad shared a lot of his personal views and deep connection to building a business around connectivity. In the words of Stitch themselves - "Stitch is a hospitality concept created by husband and wife team, Chad Grubbs + Jen Semmler Grubbs, with inspiration from key team members, close friends and mentors. Chad, former owner of Okay Yeah Co. and previously BENT on Creativity, and Jen, owner of Plant Shoppe, are best known for their resourceful approach in creating unique experiences and offerings to the Oklahoma City scene. Born and raised in Oklahoma, the couple strives to make positive, inspiring impacts in the community through various craft ventures. The intention of Stitch is to offer a simple, yet holistic approach to the cafe experience while creating an environment that allows individuals the opportunity to experience connection by encountering authenticity, honesty, creativity, intentionality, and passion through food and beverage service. With its casual minimalistic style, Stitch Cafe will aim to become a gathering space for conversation and sharing through food, beverage and hospitality. Those that visit will be encouraged to slow down and understand that they are a part of the story. We believe that each person matters, no matter who they are, where they’ve come from and where they are in their own personal journey. All are welcome to come in, converse, and share in this common everyday experience we have around the table. In doing so, we hope that guests are left with the experience of feeling connected (or rather “stitched”); a part of something much larger than themselves." Thanks for listening and as always please leave a review. 5* preferred. #thisisoklahoma

OKC is mostly known for the OKC Thunder and recently Westbrook leaving us. However, OKC has a badass food scene that's been popping off for a few years now. Not your first choice in the midwest but its becoming one of the best. I interviewed Logan about his food blog called @edibleexcellence on Instagram. He’s turned his passion and hobby into a thriving blog and budding business. Hosting monthly events connecting with restaurants, other local bloggers and serving on many non profit boards such as the Girls Scouts of Western Oklahoma. I met Logan at one of his influencer brunch events at En Croute. Logan organizes a monthly event for local food blogegrs to get together, have brunch and network. The event was really cool, i got to meet a lot of faces behind the instagram accounts which is always nice. A few years ago Logan challenged himself to eat at a different resturant every week for one year. This took him on quite a journey, eating goat was one of the things he mentioned. As well as finding the best hole in the wall places that he would never have found if he stayed in his normal routine. Half way through this challenge a friend asked if he was sharing his challenge with anyone and that this would be perfect for Instagram. After that, it was off to the races and Edible Excellence was born. Logan’s passion isnt just food. He’s a hige fan of cocktails. Mentioning his favorite places like R&J, 602 Bistro in Guthrie and PonyBoy in Uptown. OKC is thriving with new restaurants and most recently a food court concept, The Collective has recently opened and The Parlor is coming soon to Broadway this fall. All these concepts are great for OKC’s tourism, it puts our city on the map and keeps our brains busy with choice. What better place to live than a place that has so much variety for any meal of the day. If you want follow search @edibleexcellence on instagram to follow Logan’s recommendations. Thanks for listening, as always leave us a review 5* preferred. If you’d like to recommend anyone for the podcast send me an email [email protected] and follow us @thisisoklahoma on instagram. Thanks

Jeremy Schulz a professional drummer. He's taught at the Seattle Drum School for ten years, traveled the world playing infant of thousands and writing music for some of the best rock bands in the world. Jeremy wanted to do something big to raise money for charity and after being bullied as a kid there was only on charity to raise money for. Justin Wren's Fight For The Forgotten. When Jeremy heard about the new FFTF bullying prevention program coming to schools across the nation soon, it was a no brainer. The two got connected and the dates were set. Jeremy is walking from Brooklyn Bridge NYC to Reading California. Finishing up there in October which is National Bullying Prevention Month. Justin and Jeremy have similar stories as kids, both being bullied for being different. Jeremy shares some incredible stories from his first half of the walk, from falling off a cliff, being chased by coyotes, sleeping on the side of the road and of course meeting amazing people. I was fortunate enough to spend sometime with these guys while Jeremy takes a well earned week off here in OKC. Jeremy is an amazing human being and will definitely change lives with his story in the future. Just like Justin, both have overcome bullying and depression to make a change in the world and both are striving to pass this forward to others can realize its possible. Being bullied can be a dark place and its not so easy for parents to spot if their child is bring bullied. So if you see something say something. Jeremys goal is to raise $250,000 by October. You can follow him and donate here http://www.beatsfromthecore.com/beats-for-a-cause Follow Jeremy journey on social media @beatsfromthecore_ Justin Wren here @thebigpigmy ( Justins story is episode 21 in our feed ) This is Oklahoma here @thisisoklahoma As always thanks for listing and don't forget to leave a review 5* preferred.

On this episode your host Mike Hearne sits down with Oklahoma Abandoned creator and photographer Jesse Edgar. Jesse's brainchild The Oklahoma Abandoned Project takes him all over the state of Oklahoma photographing historic, abandoned, and forgotten parts in hopes to preserve the history behind Oklahoma architecture, his goal is to make others aware of the condition of the more unfortunate parts of our state. Jesse was born on January 27th, 1985 in Rolla, Missouri. He moved to Seminole, Oklahoma when he was 2 years old. Throughout his life he's lived in Shawnee, Tecumseh, Earlsboro, Wewoka, Moore, Norman, Tulsa, Midwest City, North Oklahoma City, and currently South Oklahoma City. Certainly no stranger to little towns in Oklahoma. Jesse owns a computer repair business in Oklahoma City called OKComputerGuy. Follow Jesse's project online at www.oklahomaabandoned.com on Instagram and Facebook @oklahomaabandoned Thanks for your time and as always leave a review 5* preferred. #thisisoklahoma @thisisoklahoma everywhere, If you have any guests that you'd love to here on our podcast please reach out [email protected] as well as any apparel or stickers you'd like to purchase. Mike ​

Today's awesome podcast sheds some light on an incredible event coming up in OKC this Thursday called Cookies and Cocktails. This event is presented by the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma to raise awareness and money for their new camp here in OKC. Learn more about what the Girl Scouts are doing to make a change in this area and this incredible event. 28 restaurants incroporating GS Cookies into their new creations. Foodies from all over the state will be in attendance to raise money for this amazing organization. Follow them here at @gswesternok get tickets here www.gswestok.org use discount code FRIEND See you there at the OKC Farmers Market this Thursday 6th August 5.30-8pm 21 and over event. #thisisoklahoma

On this episode I sit down with young entrepreneur Ethan Blagg. Ethan is has a very interesting story and a strong will to be the next Tony Stark, Elon Musk, Bruce Wayne type person. To create such a company that propels mankind further into the future for the better. Ethan is a college dropout which you'll hear more about in this interview. In his short time on this planet he's done some incredible things an continues to work toward his end goal everyday. Follow Ethan on Instagram @ethanblagg and his company @breker for more innovative insights. If you need help marketing your brand on social media. Look no further. Thanks for listening and as always leave a review 5* preferred. #thisisoklahoma Follow up here @thisisoklahoma