Real Talk with Benny T

Scott Meier (@scott.meier.87) is on a mission to help others. But that mission started by helping the one person who needed his help the most: himself. When his brother got married in 2020, Scott was weighing in at 367 pounds. He still doesn’t like looking at the wedding photos from the day. It’s too painful. But that was his “line in the sand” moment 🙅‍♂️ At that weight, with two young kids and...

Eric Mathews (@ericsjoyride) is a hustler, a visionary, a salesman, a media savant, a mentor to many, and the Assistant Director of Media Relations at the University of Hawaii 🌈 We first crossed paths when he was working for the local EPSN Radio affiliate in Lexington, Kentucky. He was a young broadcaster, I was a young college student trying to land an internship. From that point on, Eric took m...

Colby Hall (@colbyjameshall) is a stand-up guy, a statesman, a sales veteran, a hustler, traveler, man of faith, and a dear friend 🥰 He currently serves as the Executive Director of Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), which is a non-profit organization geared towards economic revitalization in Eastern Kentucky. After graduating from the University of Kentucky and several years of cutting his t...

Kayla Weber Nord (@kaylaweberart) is a force to be reckoned with. She’s an artist, a mother, an entrepreneur, a live event painter, and oh yeah, she also plans weddings in her spare time when she’s not traveling with her husband or hopping on podcasts like this one 😎 Her mom always knew she was gifted – she still has the binder of Kayla’s earliest creations from when she was just two years old (1...

Brad Steinfeld left Louisville when he was 16 years old. He wasn’t getting what he wanted or needed there, and he had been bitten by the rock-climbing bug, so he packed his bags and eventually hitchhiked his way to one of the meccas of rock climbing in North America: El Dorado Canyon (11:52) By the time he was 23, his life unfolded like an adventure novel: full of stories of traveling around the w...

Ameet Patel (@aapatel27) is an entrepreneur, a hustler, a hotelier, the guy that brought Crumbl Cookies to Lexington, and he’s the co-founder of Thoroughbred Hospitality Group. More importantly, he’s a brother to me, someone whose work ethic I admire a lot, and he’s also the very first person I ever attended a music festival with! Thanks for jumpstarting this lifestyle, my friend 😎 After graduati...

Kaleb Leach (@kleach34) is an entrepreneur, a hustler, a leader, a traveler, a man of faith, an area scout in Europe for the NFL’s International Pathway Program, part owner of Europe’s Elite (@europes_elite), and most importantly of all, he’s an incredible human being and one of my best friends in the world 🥳 Kaleb came through the studio recently to dap me up and fill me in on all of the things...

Happy New Year, my friends 🥳 I’m manifesting a lot in this episode, starting with my vision for this show moving forward and how this concept has continued to evolve over time, as well as what you can expect from me this year. Beyond that, I set and share lots of my goals for this year, including podcast goals (19:23), professional goals (34:01), personal goals (39:58), fitness goals (56:01), and...

For the first time ever, I received a Spotify Wrapped. The numbers didn’t tell my story as a listener… the numbers tell a spectacular story for my podcast 🥳 And seeing as all trends are pointing up and this is the final episode of the year, I thought this would be as good a time as any to combine that data with some of the other raw numbers from 2021, tell that story, and reflect upon some of the...

Christen Garland is a web/graphic designer, a brand specialist, a solopreneur, and a nurturer of all things growth. We first connected back in 2015 at the University of Kentucky: two students both just trying to figure out their paths. Through social media, we’ve been able to stay connected, and in the time since graduation, I’ve admired her hustle from afar as she’s leaned into her gifts, her pas...

Mayfield, Kentucky was recently hit by a historic E5 tornado that left in its wake a path of devastation and destruction in western parts of the state. It was one of five that touched down during the storms last weekend. At least 92 people have been confirmed dead across multiple states after more than 40 tornadoes pummeled a wide area on Dec. 10 and 11. My heart goes out to all of the families an...

Tim O’Neil (@tim_oneil) is a business executive and a senior seller that’s spent nearly two decades building products and processes, selling in the mobile gaming space, developing businesses, solving problems, maximizing value, and above all else, being a real one 💯 He currently works for a company called Appsflyer, which is a company that offers measurement software to businesses to better under...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. — Charles Dickens” — Ben Tompkins This is a heavy one, but this is my story, and I have a right to tell it. So, here we go. Welcome to the Thanksgiving Special, my friends 🥳 I introduce this therapy session with two pieces of wisdom from Anne Lamott and Dax Shepherd that continue to give me the power, strength, and courage to come on and be so...

Benny T (@bennytomp18) and Maddie Miyahara (@maddie.miyahara) go live from Ashland, Oregon after a week of traveling/camping/visiting National Parks to recap the trip, the challenges/obstacles of podcasting on the road, plus offer a break down of the itinerary and a recap of time spent at the Grand Canyon for Maddie’s end of the year Halloween Party 🎃 Then, the trip begins in true form with takea...

Benny T (@bennytomp18) and Maddie Miyahara (@maddie.miyahara) check back in from El Capitan State Beach in Santa Barbara, California after a very special handful of days spent in the Bay Area, which included a trip up to Santa Rosa to visit the Charles M. Schulz museum, fine Italian dining in SF with friends, meeting Maddie’s Aunt Kim, Uncle Mike, and their two boys, hitting alllll of Ben’s favori...

Benny T (@bennytomp18) and Maddie Miyahara (@maddie.miyahara) pull up from St. Louis, Missouri to recap the final segment of the California National Parks trip, including taking a ferry out to Channel Islands National Park in search for the Island Scrub Jay, a near disaster that happened to Ben once on the island, then completing their drive down Highway 1 through Malibu and San Diego, and finally...

Jordan Toma (@imjustakidwithaniep) loves a good comeback story. Whether it’s his own, a student’s he connects with during one of his speaking engagements, or even a total stranger’s he hears being shared on the social media platform Clubhouse, he just can’t help himself from rooting for the underdog. That’s because for as long as he can remember, he’s been the underdog. As a kid, Jordan was diagno...

Tim Schladand is a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed clinical alcohol and drug abuse counselor, and a certified Daring Way facilitator who runs a private practice. Fortunately for me, he also happens to live a few doors down and enjoys long conversations about vulnerability and social mobility. Besides becoming the first person to ever join the show for a second time, Tim returned to the...

Shane Fowler (@ashanefowler) is a friend and former classmate from the University of Kentucky who went on to work at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in Los Angeles before attending Harvard Law School and successfully obtaining his JD. Shane shares what it was like growing up as a poor, Black kid in Cynthiana, KY to making it to Harvard Law School (3:30), how he used his people skills and communicati...

Jim Phipps is a retired Army veteran with 24 years of service who now works the window at my local Starbucks. I usually see Jim in the mornings and always look forward to our encounters. As time has gone on and I’ve learned more about Jim’s story, including why he chose to retire from retirement and why he gets up at 4:15am to do what he does, I began feeling inspired. People say, “be the change y...

Benny T shares some exciting news and laments on where things are at before running through the itinerary of his upcoming 3-week road trip through California's National Parks. Enjoy!

Benny T (@bennytomp18) checks in for another midnight session coming straight off the after party and celebration of Whitney and Jerrett's marriage to share some thoughts on the night, the people, the ceremony, the reception, all of it. What a time 🥳 Major shoutout to the newly weds, congrats guys, may these next chapters in your life be filed with love, empathy, and happy days 🥰 And aye, if you...

My guest this week is Morgan McCombs (@morganmccombs), a friend and fellow Gemini who’s just launched a new platform and creative outlet, @impwr_now 🤗 Morgan shares the inspiration for this new account, as well as what her audience can expect to gain in terms of content, then fills me in on what life has been like for her since leaving the Bay Area where we first initially connected. She shares t...

Kicking things off this week, I make a few announcements at the top of the show (3:33), including the content listeners can expect over the next several weeks, some of the upcoming guests that will be featured on the show, and why I’m taking a break from the Uber Stories. Then, I transition into my recap of my trip out west to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedona, Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, B...

Ayeeee, sorry for the wait, I'm outta the office this week traveling on a little trip through the Southwest, visiting hella national parks and wrapping things up with a couple nights in Vegas before heading back. I never want to let a week go by without dropping ~something~ so there ya go.