Life of Gusto

My guest on this episode is Christian Douglas. Christian is an -award-winning landscape designer with over 25 years of experience creating beautiful and productive outdoor spaces for homeowners, hospitality, and celebrity chefs. Join us for a conversation about Christian’s first book, The Food Forward Garden: A Complete Guide to Designing and Growing Edible Landscapes. He shares insights from his...

Meet Latanya Nowatnick, co-founder of Casa De Otay, a vibrant new coffee shop that began its journey in a small shipping baby blue shipping container. Latanya tells her story from growing up in an immigrant family to discovering her path as an entrepreneur through unexpected turns and shares her passion for bringing people together in beautiful spaces. Tune in to hear how she balances family life,...

My guest on this episode Will Cockrell. Will is an award-winning writer, senior editor, and consultant with over 20 years of experience at national magazines including Men’s Journal, Men’s Fitness, Outside, and GQ. Join us for a conversation about Will’s first book, “Everest Inc: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World.” Will shares the inspiration behind the book al...

My guests on this episode are Roberto Saldahna and Laura Rabelo, a Brazilian couple who, just before the lockdown in 2020, took a leap of faith and opened World Green Acai in Larkspur, CA, Despite the challenges of the pandemic, they managed to survive and are now fully open, creating a popular gathering place for Marin residents to enjoy authentic acai and other Brazilian treats. Join us for a br...

My guest on this opening episode for Season 3 is Lucy Davis. Lucy is currently Director of Product Design at Instagram. Tune in to hear Lucy share insights from her nearly two decades of experience in the design world. We also discuss some of the cultural considerations of user experience, a few of her own design inspirations, and her journey to working for one of the world’s most influential comp...

My guest on this episode is Haleigh Washington. Haleigh is a professional volleyball player and a member of the US Women’s National Team that won the Olympic Gold Medal in indoor volleyball this summer in Tokyo, Japan. Haleigh is a graduate of Penn State Univeristy, where she was a 3-time All-American and helped lead her team to a Big Ten title, two final four appearances, and an NCAA Championship...

My guest is Eric Bissell. He’s a climber and photographer based in Bishop, California. After a brief stint working in the art world in New York City, Eric pursued his love for climbing and the outdoors over eight seasons as a climbing ranger in Yosemite National Park. Along the way he’s traveled the world in search of challenging boulder problems and to establish new routes on big walls in Venezue...

My guest on this episode is Joyce Tang. She is a pastry chef and founder of Bake Sum where she and her team craft inventive pastries fusing Asian flavors and ingredients with classic French techniques. Tune in to hear how Joyce stepped away from a burgeoning career in Silicon Valley to pursue her love of baking, her thoughts on creativity, and how, during the depths of the pandemic, she successful...

My guest on this episode is Azikiwee Anderson. He created Rize Up Bakery based in San Francisco and makes artisan sourdough bread in traditional and nontraditional ways with unique, sometimes unexpected flavor combinations. Tune in to hear about Azikiwee’s own unconventional background as a skater, his transition to food, his creative process, and how he is using Rize Up Baker to connect people wi...

My guest on this episode is Michael Mongan, the Solicitor General for the state of California. Mr. Mongan has more than 15 years of experience in both private law and government. He’s worked in Congress, served as a clerk for the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, and was Deputy Counsel for Vice President Joe Biden during the first two years of the Obama Administratio...

My guest is Mika McKinnon. She’s a geophysicist, disaster researcher, educator, and science communicator. Mika has also served as a science consultant on a number of tv shows and films including Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe, Madam Secretary, and Star Trek Discovery. Join us for a conversation about everything from this week’s volcano eruption in Iceland, what rocks tell us about our past a...

The Life of Gusto podcast is back for Season 2! My first guest is Charles Salter, President and Chief Operating Officer of News Literacy Project, which provides educators with the tools and resources to help young people become informed, active consumers of news and information. In this episode, he shares his insights into how we arrived at this period where truth itself is under siege, the challe...

In this special episode, a round up of Season 1 highlights: a few of my favorite clips, some extended conversations, and a little bonus content sprinkled throughout. ⁣ A big shout out to all of my guests and to all of my listeners for your support, feedback, and encouragement. Come back in 2021 for more conversation about finding your way—and living a life of gusto.

We continue our discussion about Lindsey’s latest book, “The New Parisienne.” She talks about the disability advocate Elisa Rojas and touches on a few of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s efforts to reduce congestion and address pollution. And thinking about the day we can travel again to Paris. Lindsey shares a sample “ideal day” itinerary. Head to my Instagram @lifeofgusto and my website augustoandres....

On this special episode I take a brief look at the impact of Covid on business owners. Chef and entrepreneur Hilary Jacobs returns to talk about starting a new venture in this challenging environment, and two Marin County business owners Surinder Sroa of Lotus cuisine of india and Leslie Burnside of Theresa and Johnny’s Comfort Food talk about trying to keep their restaurants afloat during this un...

Bonus Episode in French! I was pleasantly surprised by the number of listens to Episode 9 in French with Frédéric de Lavenne de Choulot. Thanks to all for tuning in (and putting up with my accent and errors!). Fred returns for this short bonus episode to discuss motivation, learning languages using various apps, and he shares some thoughts on celebrating Christmas in France. If you’d like to follo...

Episode 12 of the Life of Gusto podcast is up! My guest on this episode is Lindsey Tramuta. She is a Paris-based writer and journalist who is also the face behind the long running blog and Instagram account @lostncheeseland. Lindsey’s first book The New Paris, highlighted the entrepreneurs, chefs, and creators pushing Paris in exciting new directions. Published this summer, her second book, The Ne...

My guest on this episode is photographer and filmmaker Scott Kranz. In 2015, Scott walked away from a burgeoning career as a litigator to become a full-time commercial and adventure photographer focusing on outdoor sports, mountain climbing, travel, and landscapes. ⁣ Scott discusses how he shifted towards a life built around a passion for the outdoors and shares highlights from his book 50 Peaks,...

Extra content that didn’t make the original episodes. ⁣ Part 1 - Marcus Filly on integrating health and fitness into one’s life and the work-life balance. ⁣ Part 2 - Alexandra Hunt talks musical theatre cast albums and “Hamilton.” ⁣ Part 3 - Jim Cegelnik on the limits of either/or thinking and his “Slow is fast” mindset. ⁣ Part 4 - Alex Macdonald on his favorite vintage and the impact of weather c...

Episode 9 is a special edition completely in French. It’s for people studying French, Francophiles, Francophones, and anyone else with a general interest in languages, learning, or travel. Although I studied French language and literature in college and have visited France multiple times, I’ve never mastered spoken French. This summer is as close as I’ve come to my goal of becoming fluent with the...

Shane Miller is a contemporary artist based in Nashville who creates paintings with imagined-landscapes that evoke a powerful mix of dreams, memories, and nostalgia. Largely self-taught, Shane shifted away from working as a physical therapist assistant and a musician to become a full-time artist in 2016 via his growing reach on Instagram. In Episode 8, Shane talks about creating a life based on hi...

Jim Cegelnik is a doctor of physical therapy and an orthopedic clinical specialist in Marin with nearly 13 years of experience working with clients and athletes of all types. In addition to his clinical practice, Jim is an educator, an avid surfer and a co-host of his own podcast, Dropping in Surf Show. Tune in to hear how Jim dealt with and learned from an early experience with failure that nearl...

Ninive Calegari is a teacher, author, film producer, non-profit founder, and CEO. In 2002, with writer Dave Eggers, she founded 826 Valencia later as CEO of 826, expanded the organization to eight additional chapters across the country. Currently, she is the CEO of Enterprise for Youth, which provides workplace development and internships for San Francisco students. In this episode, Ninive talks a...

Revival Strength founder Marcus Filly talks about how he stepped away from a path he thought was expected of him and how he built upon his experiences as a CrossFit gym owner and CrossFit Games athlete to create his own company and put a unique stamp on the world of health and fitness.

Alex shares how family and friends helped her pivot towards a career in counseling and what it’s like to help teenagers navigate high school.