Vilardi Digital Podcast

Justin admits he has no idea what a county commissioner does, so he asks someone who wants the job. Stephanie Vazquez is running for Pasco County Commission District 2, and she explains it in plain English: zoning, development, taxes, roads and flooding. Stephanie is an Air Force veteran who grew up poor in Flint, Michigan, raised three kids as a single mom on assistance, and later built a program...

Conrad De La Torres III has lived a few completely different lives. In one, he spent 10 years in the U.S. Coast Guard conducting search and rescue, counter-narcotics and anti-terrorism operations. He chased cocaine boats through the Caribbean, boarded vessels in open water and helped find survivors after a freighter sank in the Atlantic. In another, he left the military, started editing nightclub...

Can police lie to you? Can they search your phone? Should you talk to them if you're innocent? And is saying "maybe I need a lawyer" actually enough? Justin sits down with criminal defense attorney Christina LaMaida, founder of LaMaida Law, P.A., for a conversation about what your rights actually look like when you're dealing with police, an arrest or a criminal accusation. Chr...

Former professional beach volleyball player Vince Ruhumuliza has had a strange path through the sport. After growing up in Michigan, Vince moved to Florida to pursue beach volleyball, eventually packed up his life and moved to Rwanda, started Volleyball for Rwanda, competed internationally, and came within one match of qualifying for the Rio Olympics. That final match happened in Cairo. Vince and...

Brad Lulas has spent years making things look better after everyone else leaves the set. In this episode of the Vilardi Digital Podcast, Justin sits down with longtime friend and Senior Video Editor Brad Lulas to talk about video editing, VFX, After Effects, movies, storytelling and the tiny creative decisions that can completely change a finished piece. Brad and Justin go all the way back to work...

How vulnerable is your business to a cyberattack? Probably more than you think. In Episode 21 of the Vilardi Digital Podcast, Justin Vilardi sits down with Brad Savage of DigitalBrainz to talk about the cybersecurity threats facing small and midsize businesses, how AI is changing the game, and why sometimes the biggest vulnerability in a company isn't the technology. It's the person usin...

Is your smart home actually smart? Probably not as smart as it's about to be. In Episode 22 of the Vilardi Digital Podcast, Justin Vilardi sits down with John Savio, founder of Micover IT AV, to talk about smart homes, artificial intelligence, home automation, privacy, AI assistants, networking, home theaters, robots, and where consumer technology is headed next. John has been working with te...

In this episode, Justin Vilardi sits down with O.C. Melton, co-owner of American Family Roofing, to talk about one of the biggest investments most people will ever make: their home. With experience as both an independent insurance adjuster and a licensed roofing contractor, O.C. offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how roofing claims, storm damage, insurance companies, and contractors actually...

Justin sits down with musician, producer, entrepreneur, and TrueFire VP of Content Tommy Jamin for a conversation that starts with Tampa Bay's local music scene and ends somewhere between artificial intelligence, creativity, entrepreneurship, and the future of human expression. Tommy and Justin first met more than 20 years ago while playing in different bands throughout the Tampa Bay area. Ba...

Florida realtor Rob Cancelli joins the show to talk about what’s REALLY happening in the housing market, why Palm Harbor feels different from Clearwater Beach, crazy showing stories, investment properties, family life, and the pressure people feel to “keep up” financially. This one turns into a surprisingly honest conversation about money, social media, community, and building a life you actually...

In this episode of the Vilardi Digital Podcast, Gary T. Hartfield joins Justin for a direct conversation about execution, leadership, and building something that lasts. They discuss: • Why most people stay stuck  • The discipline required to grow  • Faith and leadership  • Business accountability  • The difference between talking and doing  • What separates winners from everyone else Gary shares p...

Distracted driving killed 3,275 Americans in 2023. In this episode, I sit down with Trey Heyward and Rolland Lucas, co founders of Eyez Up App, an app designed to prevent distracted driving by giving parents the power to temporarily allow only certain functions like emergency services, maps, and music and lock calls and text on a phone while a teen is behind the wheel. We break down: • The real di...

Amanda Arismendez joins the Vilardi Digital Podcast to break down what really happens behind the scenes of major productions on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and FX. From camera department to DIT to assistant editing, Amanda explains how stories are shaped in post production, how truth can shift in documentaries, and what it takes to build a sustainable career in film. We cover: • What a DIT actually doe...

David Cook III built a successful 10-year career in real estate. But success alone wasn’t enough. In this episode of the Vilardi Digital Podcast, David shares how a renewed relationship with Christ reshaped his priorities and led him toward building a Christian wellness center rooted in faith, healing, and leadership. We discuss: • Faith and entrepreneurship  • Walking away from comfort  • Christi...

On this episode of the Vilardi Digital Podcast, Justin sits down with Renee Harr, founder of HarrFitt & harrfitt.com, to talk about real world fitness. Not trends. Not shortcuts. Not influencer highlight reels. Real life. We break down what actually works when you are balancing kids, work, stress, hormone shifts, and bust some myths.  Renee shares her no nonsense approach to training, includin...

Mitch Smith is the owner of Southern Sun Pool Care, a Tampa Bay pool service built on a simple promise. Show up, do the job right, and treat people like neighbors. In this episode we get into Mitch’s Pasco County roots, lessons from the police academy, the leap from the Lexus world into pool service, and the mindset shifts that helped him build a business that buys back time with his family. If yo...

George Klimis joins the VDP for a real talk on Follow Your Effort, the program he designed on intentional goals, emotional intelligence, and consistent action. We dig into fatherhood, leadership, purpose over money, and how consistent effort becomes the tempo for the life you ACTUALLY want. Follow Your Effort https://www.followyoureffort.com/ https://www.instagram.com/follow_your_effort https://ww...

🎙️ Vilardi Digital Podcast – Jess Lewis & Chris Anderson (Cander Productions) What happens when two filmmakers trade chaos for control? Jess Lewis and Chris Anderson of Canders Productions sit down for a real, funny talk about building a creative career in production, unions, freelancing, why college for production is a sham, and burning out. From Bluewater Media madness to running their own p...

Ever wonder what it’s really like to run a business with your spouse; while raising two toddlers and helping hundreds of Tampa Bay families see their babies in 3D?  In this episode, I sit down with Kayla and Chase Berger , the duo behind Nest Ultrasound Studio , a warm, family-focused 3D/4D ultrasound experience based in Trinity, Florida. We talk about: IT WAS ALL A DREAM..... (Channel Biggie Smal...

We pick up mid-conversation with director/producer Harry Greene and stay in the trenches: overtime isn’t an exception—it’s the job. Plan hard, crew right, and expect chaos. Harry breaks down how budgets dictate reality (the “30-second spot with real money” vs. the “2-minute job with not enough”), why asking for favors burns teams, and where professionalism starts: show up, solve it, deliver. We ru...

In Part 1, Harry Greene (founder of Waking Dream Pictures ) traces the path from Florida theatre kid to calm-under-fire commercial director, with stories that reveal the messy, sometimes shady, behind-the-scenes world of production and direct-to-consumer marketing. Harry takes us back to: His Illinois State theatre scholarship and brutal Midwest winters Switching to USF film & mass comm and di...

Back in high school, Mitch Teckman was my Dunkin’ Donuts hookup. Fast forward a couple decades and he’s running Legendary Tattoo in Tarpon Springs —one of Florida’s most respected shops—and Legendary Custom Merch , a full-blown print/engraving hustle. In this episode, Mitch and I catch up like old friends but also dig deep into: How he went from band practice to tattooing out of a sign shop Why pi...

Cranking It Out: Side Hustles, Cop Stories, Small Business Owners & Pig Farming  What do you get when you mix two cops, home inspections, a woodworking shop, and a pig farm? This episode.... I sit down with my buddies Chase Berger and Eddie Feidt to talk about: 🚓 Cop stories (yes, tasers were involved… twice, and both times didn’t work) 🏠 How Chase built a home inspection business and launch...

What really happens after childbirth and why aren’t we talking about it? In this powerful episode, Dr. Karisa from Haven Chiropractic & Wellness shares her personal and professional journey through pregnancy trauma, emergency C-section, postpartum PTSD, and launching a women-focused chiropractic practice that puts humanity first. We cover: Why chiropractic care during pregnancy is about the ne...

Some people navigate calm waters. Captain Luke Bonner navigates chaos — and somehow lives to laugh about it. From getting shot at to surviving a shipwreck, Luke’s got more stories than a salty old bar in Key West. In this episode, we dive into his wildest moments on the water, the unglamorous truth about life as a captain, and why your best stories rarely start with “everything went according to p...