Surprisingly

In Ash Rogers' second episode, she shares the harrowing but beautiful experience of having her first child in Kenya and how that aligned with her taking on a new role to help further develop the community-led maternal healhcare in Kenya. She touches on how her husband's work in HIV care in East Africa easily translated to work here in Tennessee, and how she believes that if we care for one we care...

In this Part One, I'm happy to introduce you and myself to Ash Rogers. If you've ever wanted to know what it's like growing up Mormon, this is your episode. Ash discusses her time in the church, her eventual expansion of beliefs in college and experiencing a kind of love-at-first sight when meeting her husband.   See this episode and more on youtube.com/@Surprisingly_Pod . Find us on Instagram @su...

Before Dave Brown became the co-owner of The Basement, The Basement East and Lowbar, he was just a guy who wisely decided to drop out of college and hitchhike across the country. He had just lost a dear friend in a horrific tragedy and was working through his grief, trying to make a living and casually figuring out the meaning of life along the way. Hear him talk about spotting small miracles in t...

Like a lot of people in Nashville, Dave Brown is a songwriter and musician. Like exactly one other person in Nashville, he's the proud (and humble) co-owner of the legendary The Basement, plus The Basement East and Low Bar Nashville. Even though he's not the kinda dude who would take credit in this way, the former is a space that has helped launch musical magnificence: St. Paul and the Broken Bone...

Scott is here on a mission. He's ready to be the latest stranger to sit with us and he's willing to get extra vulnerable. He's just finished a book to help people get out of their own way and get busy pursuing their dreams. He cringes when he calls the book self-help, but he glows when he shares that he's gotten astronauts, famous artists and professional athletes to contribute their stories on it...

Scott is here on a mission. He's ready to be the latest stranger to sit with us and he's willing to get extra vulnerable. He's just finished a book to help people get out of their own way and get busy pursuing their dreams. He cringes when he calls the book self-help, but he glows when he shares that he's gotten astronauts, famous artists and professional athletes to contribute their stories on it...

In John's second episode, we go full tilt boogie into the power, purpose and intricacies of finding and wearing fragrances. Lock in for tea on what scents he loves and how he advises wearing perfumes on the body. Stay awhile to hear him piece out some on the language in the olfactory world. Then don't miss the end, when he gives our newest coworker a concierge cologne reco sesh.   LINKS: https://r...

In John's former life, he was a hired-gun touring guitarist. Now, in his early thirties, he runs his own fragrance boutique, offering a pretty massive selection of niche unisex lines from his Nashville shop and select fragrances online. We start talking with the full intention of delving into how he met his wife of 10 years when he was just 16, but listeners, we got sidetracked talkin' about scent...

Mandy is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and veteran of stage and studio who has been performing since she was a child. In this episode we learn how, at just 18 years old, Mandy played Patsy Cline in the musical Always Patsy Cline to reopen the Ryman Auditorium. She shares that she has recently taken over hosting Sundays with Mandy on SiruisXM's "Willie's Roadhouse" after the loss of her dear frien...

In Mandy's second episode, she talks more about her relationship with her parents, recording a new album and her interest in music history. She shares a bit about how her creative process works and how being emotionally resilient has helped her survive in a challenging business.   Bonus tip from Mandy's dad Dan: If you're stuck in the fog, always keep an eye on the ditch line to guide you.   Watch...

In Kevin's Part 2, he shares the happiest moments of his life, how he's learned to communicate to connect well with clients and how this sit-down with me was nothing like what he expected it to be, but in a good way.   See this episode and more on YouTube . Find us on Instagram @surprisinglypod .   LINKS: https://collidecreative.com   https://kevintucker.com    

Don't you love when you meet someone for the first time and you skip the small talk and get right to it? After the pleasantries, Kevin starts by sharing some of his ultra-relatable insecurities and how he's coping with them. He talks about how, in his work as a designer in the entertainment space, he's shed preconcieved notions about people—namely Larry the Cable Guy. We also discuss the universal...

This mini-episode gets into the spirt of the season by begging the question: You wanna take it out back?   We set up on the back porch of our ad agency and content studio to sit with a fresh batch of interesting strangers on the street. We're talking holiday memories, gifts, foiled plans and more. From scandolous holiday cake making to shedding unexpected light on the opioid crisis, this one will...

In Scott's second episode, he shares how he is constantly looking for new ways to engage communities for fundraising. He graciously answers a couple questions from your host-and-producer's daughter about stage fright and song choice. (The song was "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith. This is becoming a Steven Tyler-heavy podcast lately.)   Scott also shares his thoughts on the future of the sport of ice...

Children and adults of the 80's, rejoice! We're on the cusp of giving season and we are so proud to have hosted world-renowned, Olympic gold medalist, Scott Hamilton for a lovely gab session about all the things that are close to his heart. In his first episode, he shares his passion for philanthropy and talks about the who's who and the what's what of this year's Scott Hamilton & Friends event at...

On Brother Love's Part Two episode, we continue our conversation about learning how to quell our anger, his radio show Community Corner on Nashville's Lightning 100 and his Just Keep Talking podcast.   He touches on his Morning Pages practice, addiction and how he believes in meaning it when you ask, "How are you?" And in being truthful with your answer when asked the same.   LINKS:  justkeeptalki...

What's not to love about Larry, a.k.a Brother Love?   He's our 237th musician and disc jockey on this podcast who comes correct with great stories. He gets really excited when he talks about his cool, touring-drummer wife, boinking his bride in Steven Tyler's bed and singing karaoke with Ed Sheeran.   Before we close, we talk about him getting access to therapy through Music Cares and how he's lea...

We pick up where we left off with Jason and get into why fame doesn't matter to him as much as getting paid and why working with behind-the-scenes industry legends is such a meaningful part of his work.   From working on Netflix's cartoon Motown Magic and writing a book, Jason talks about enjoying his success and focusing on giving back.   LINKS: https://www.eighthroom.com

We're in Nashville, so it stands to reason that a lot of our guests will wanna talk music. So far the quotient of music-industry guests is pretty high and there is no shortage of interesting insider info when it comes to that particular topic in this town.   Jason, aka Hollis, is a music producer and performance venue owner with a firm Gen X hustler mentality who has found success through staying...

If there's one thing we love on this podcast, it's to be surprised. Obviously. So when Lona showed up to the studio like a ray of sunshine with cute hair and an even cuter heart stamp on her cheek, we knew we were in for a fun chat. She's a middle-aged woman who is very much into doing exactly what gives her joy while juggling a million things at once. Which, for your host, is so stinking relatabl...

We had such a good time chatting with Bennett in our first episode that we invited him back for a part two follow-up. In this second sitting, we discuss whether moral superiority deserves a place in the enjoyment of art and why he only eats octopus once a year. Then we take a deeper dive into who his mother was as a woman, why inclusion with intention matters and why he believes placing value on a...

We're only three episodes in and already we've talked to two folks with shows of their own. Do one in three people have a podcast or content hustle at this point? Probably.   He's got his own radio show about NDE's, UFO's and all things paranormal, funky, weird and currently unexplainable. If we had all the time in the world, we probably would've discussed those phenomena at length. Instead, Roman...

Growing up, Hayley loved all the behind-the-scenes music industry magic she saw watching her mother work at a radio station. Today, she's built a storied career as a beloved Nashville DJ. In this episode, Hayley talks about her love of music and what it feels like to interview famous people. There's a little respectful name dropping, of course, but we don't talk deep celebrity shop—and that's inte...

In our inaugural Surprisingly episode, we meet Bennett, a goat-soap marketer who was raised by a Caribbean mother and an Italian-Midwestern father.   We explore how his culture, his intellectual familial environment and early-life grief has informed how he sees the world.   Bennett humbly defines new vocab words for Bridget, breaks down determinism and classical stoicism, and shares how philosophi...

Surprisingly is all about creating space for meaningful and unexpected connections. In each episode, our curious host meets one-on-one with a stranger. No hidden agenda. No talking points. No prepared questions. Just two people seeing where the conversation leads. Produced in the heart  of Nashville, Tennessee by  Fresh Consumables content studio.