ZAP!

Jimmy is a video game content creator and Twitch Streamer. While Jimmy loves gaming in general, he has really found his calling with NBA 2k, where he currently partners with the brand. Jimmy graduated from Butler University with a degree in journalism. While in college, Jimmy combined his passion for basketball with his passion for photography and videography and had the opportunity to take p...

Justin in a fellow Central Michigan University graduate and the founding member of Detroit's first anime club. Justin has always loved anime, comics, superheroes, and video games. Recently, Justin had the idea of creating a local club for the anime community so he could create a space for people that share his passions. While Justin was growing up, he loved anime, but it wasn't too popular at the...

Shannon is an educator, collaborator, and activator. Since moving to Denver, Colorado Shannon has really made a home for herself there. Shannon has always been passionate about the communities that she's a part of and has tired to make a difference in any way that she's able to. Wanting to make a difference in her new home town led Shannon to think "why not me?" thus what sparked her idea to run f...

People are probably familiar with how Spotify has their annual “wrapped” report where they tell listeners what they listened to, favorite artists/songs, etc. over the last year. As a podcaster, Spotify also sends out a wrapped report for your podcast metrics over the past year. I just wanted to take an episode to share how 2022 was for the ZAP! Podcast and to thank you all for the endless support!...

Michael is a retired business owner where he did private security and now is a Michigan based author where he writes his Michigan Thrillers. Michael has always had a passion for writing but coming out of college, he didn't see being a writer as a way that he could make a living. With this in mind, Michael decided to start his own business in private security. Even though Michael decided to hold of...

Emily is a college educator, content creator, and college football fanatic. Emily has always been passionate about education, so much so that she earned her Ph. D. in Communications Studies and now is a college educator where she teaches various courses related to communications. Communication is a key skill that can impact an individual's life in a multitude of ways. Over the last few years with...

Jack is a content creator that makes videos and writes about the Detroit Pistons for the Detroit Bad Boys of SB Nation. While working full-time in project management, roughly a year ago Jack decided to pursue his passion of covering his favorite basketball team. While I'm a Pistons fan because I live in Michigan, Jack is from Australia and decided to claim the Pistons as his team because of one si...

Tyler is a former Division 1 gymnast at the University of Illinois, American Ninja Warrior competitor, and a physical therapist. Before Tyler's collegiate career, he was a member of the Junior National Team from 2000-2004. During Tyler's college career he was a two time Co-Captain and helped lead the gymnastics team to three podium finishes. While at the University of Illinois, Tyler also was a 4x...

Simone is a hair stylist that specializes in textured hair. Simone has been working as a hair stylist for a while now and has had great opportunities to be a stylist for various different events. However, getting to this point in her life and career was not always crystal clear. In her life, Simone has taken various risks for her to find her true passion and calling in life. When it comes to being...

Rus is a Division III college athlete, student, business owner, fitness enthusiast, and content creator. Rus is currently a sophomore at Baruch College where he's a defender on the soccer team and a full-time student studying business. Rus' parents are originally from Ukraine and have worked extremely hard to give him the life and opportunities that he has, so he has made it a priority to work as...

Crystal is an educator who has a passion for her occupation as well as a strong passion for voice work. While being an educator was always in the cards for Crystal, she also found a passion for communication, broadcasting, and voice work. Crystal's parents were educators, so it was only natural that she would pursue the occupation as well. Crystal is a fellow Central Michigan Chippewa and this is...

James is a consultant for the Colorado Workforce Development Council, and has recently become a bit of a viral sensation for simply doing what he could to make a difference in his Denver, Colorado community. For the last few years, James had made the decision to not drive a car as it would be better for the environment. This led James to seek out public transportation and utilizes the buses throug...

Mike, also known as "Mike from the Mitten," is an occupational therapy student and content creation. For a while now, Mike has had a passion for the career path of occupational therapy and is equally passionate about content creation. While the majority of Mike's focus is on his academics and just journey to becoming a occupational therapist, in his free time Mike makes content on YouTube, TikTok,...

Julie Kratz is a highly-acclaimed TEDx speaker and inclusive leadership trainer who led teams and produced results in corporate America. After experiencing many career “pivot points” of her own, she started her own speaking business with the goal of helping leaders be more inclusive. Promoting diversity, inclusion, and allyship in the workplace, Julie helps organizations foster more inclusive envi...

Jason works in movies and the entertainment industry as a lighting operator and gaffer. While the entertainment industry has always interested Jason, he decided to focus on the production side of it rather than being on the big screens. After graduating from Michigan State University in 2018, Jason made the decision to move to Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta has slowly become a buzzing location for movi...

Joe is a health and fitness coach that helps individuals optimize every aspect of their overall health. Joe has been on quite the health journey himself. A lot of Joe's journey has had its ups and downs. While Joe spent a long time chasing after a dream physique, once he achieved it, he learned that there's a lot more to health than how you look. While Joe may have liked the way he looked, he didn...

Lindsee is a student pursuing her doctorate's in physical therapy as well as a singer and songwriter. Lindsee has always been passionate about music and has been uploading both covers and original songs on YouTube for over a decade. In addition to still uploading videos on YouTube, Lindsee also has a band called Rm 408. Many years ago, Lindsee posted a cover of the song Fancy by Iggy Azalea featur...

Jazzlyn currently lives in Los Angeles, California where she recently moved to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Jazzlyn has always been someone who has had a lot of self-awareness and has many great perspectives on life. While Jazzlyn does have a passion and interest in the entertainment industry, it's not for selfish reasons or ones that feed the ego. Jazzlyn is a creative that want...

Bernard works a regular 9-5 job, but in all of his free time he's actively pursuing his passion and dreams of acting. While Bernard has found some success as an actor, being in movies, stage performances, commercials, and music videos, he is aiming to transition out of his 9-5 and to act full time. Throughout Bernard's life, he has always been interested in acting but it wasn't until he was out of...

Tony is a content creator that videos related to Detroit sports. While Tony makes videos about his thoughts on trades, signing, and directions that the teams are going, Tony is most known for his live reaction videos. After every Pistons, Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings games Tony sits in front of the camera, recaps the game, and shares his thoughts. As a massive Detroit sports fan myself, I find bei...

Courtney is an entrepreneur, works within digital and social media marketing, and is about to continue her academic journey as she pursues her degree. While Courtney's path may not look similar to her peers, she wouldn't have it any other way. In this conversation, Courtney shares a bit about her personal story and life journey. I have so much respect and appreciation for Courtney's willing to be...

Tyler is currently a college student and has a dream of becoming a comedian and actor. From a young age, Tyler discovered that he had a passion for comedy and making the people around him smile and laugh. Throughout his life, Tyler has gone through some tough experiences but they have helped shape him into the person that he is today. Tyler is really early on in the pursuit of his passions, but he...

Daniel is a coach that helps people accomplish and reach their goals, and also helps people overcome addiction. Daniel has found a lot of success and happiness, but he has had his fair share of low life moments as well. Daniel was vulnerable enough to share his story, speaking about the various addictions that he's faced and explaining how he has overcome them. There were moments in Daniel's life...

Ashlyn has always had a passion for fashion and style. Ashlyn's love for these passions led her to the retail industry. While spending some time working for retailers, Ashlyn decided to try her hand at having her own retailer - thus leading to her boutique Simply A to Z Boutique. Since Ashlyn has always loved fashion, she has been dreaming of having her own boutique for quite a while. Now what onc...

Mark is a researcher who specializes in tuberculosis. While Mark currently researches infectious diseases, this wasn't always the path that he was headed down. I've had the privilege to know Mark since undergrad and he was always going down the path of medical school to be a doctor. While he didn't completely switch fields, Mark made the conscious decision to pursue a different interest and passio...