Passion Pod

Episode 191: Comrade Tripp In this episode, Chris sits down with comedian Comrade Tripp for a candid and hilarious conversation about his journey into the world of comedy. Comrade shares how he got his start, his lifelong love for Pokémon, and how going viral online gave his career a major boost. They also dive into his pivotal role in growing the comedy scene in Minnesota and the lessons he’s lea...

🎨 Passion Pod Ep. 190: Brent Schoonover — The TRUTH about Drawing for Marvel! 🦸‍♂️ Join Chris Johnson for an exclusive interview with acclaimed comic book artist Brent Schoonover! In this episode, Brent pulls back the curtain on the comic book industry and shares his incredible journey from discovering comics as a kid to drawing for some of the biggest names in the business. Tune in to hear Bren...

🎬 Episode 189: Making Movies in the Midwest with Ramon Swift Sloan In this inspiring episode of Passion Pod, host Chris Johnson sits down with Milwaukee-based independent film director Ramon Swift Sloan. Together, they dive into the unique challenges and rewarding triumphs of making movies in Wisconsin and the greater Midwest—far from the glitz of Hollywood. What you’ll hear in this episode: Ramo...

What does it take to keep pushing the boundaries in snowboarding? In this episode, pro snowboarder Joe Sexton opens up about his journey from riding handrails to running Public Snowboards, his role as Competition Director for the Red Bull Heavy Metal snowboard contest series, and what goes into creating legendary events. Joe also shares his favorite snowboarding videos, the scariest trick he’s eve...

BabyJake: “Cigarettes On Patios” — The Untold Story | Passion Pod In this exclusive episode of Passion Pod, host Chris Johnson sits down with BabyJake, the genre-blending artist behind the viral hit “Cigarettes On Patios.” Discover the real story behind the song, the creative journey that led to its success, and what inspires BabyJake’s unique sound. 🎤 What you’ll hear in this episode: The inspir...

🎨 Lucas Beaufort: Skateboarding Has Taken Me All Over the World to Paint | Passion Pod Ep. 186 In this episode of Passion Pod, host Chris Johnson welcomes Lucas Beaufort—an internationally recognized artist, skateboarder, and muralist whose passion for skateboarding has inspired a creative journey across the globe. Lucas shares how skateboarding became the foundation for his art, leading him to p...

In this episode of Passion Pod , we sit down with Ali Sultan, a stand-up comedian and writer based in New York City who’s taken the comedy world by storm. With appearances on Comedy Central and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , Ali’s comedy specials and albums have reached millions of viewers worldwide. Born in Yemen and raised in Ethiopia before moving to Minnesota at 15, Ali shares his incred...

Trevor Newlin is a Los Angeles based suit actor most notable for his role as the Xenomorph in Alien Romulus. Trevor first discovered his love for theatre while still in high school growing up in Texas. After graduating he went to college for theatre before eventually attending film school in Los Angeles. His initial goal was to get into voice acting, but while he was still in school his professor...

Jarvis Lawson is a Milwaukee based photographer who has worked with dozens of organizations over the years including Alaska Airlines, Jordan Brand, Stella Artois, My Helsinki, Under Armour, Vice, and Visit California. Everything started for Jarvis when he came across a skyline photo online that was shot with an iPhone. An android user at the time, Jarvis said up his money and knew he had to get an...

Xavier Abdullahi is a rock climbing influencer and coach based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Xavier discovered his love for climbing in college and never looked back. In fact he dropped out of college so that he could spend all his time climbing. He never planned to be an influencer either, but when he saw a small brand offering chalk bags in exchange for posting content he made his @daddyxclimbs acc...

Blake Eason is a news anchor for WISN News based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Blake grew up in the small town of Warner Robbins, Georgia and is a self proclaimed "theatre kid for life". After graduating high school Blake moved to the big city of Atlanta to begin his journey in media with an internship at The Bert Show. His original dream was to host a game show, but when the pandemic shut down Los Ang...

Richie Burke and Bre Barnett are the hosts and faces behind Milwaukee Uncut, Milwaukee's alternative media source for news, interviews, skits, guides, and more. You've likely seen their faces on social media as their videos have reached millions of views and their social media platforms have skyrocketed over the last year. What most people don't know is the story of how they got there. In this epi...

Timmy Bishop aka Timmy the Dreamer is on a mission to be the first person ever to give motivational speeches to kids at schools in all 50 states. Timmy grew up in the Twin Cities playing basketball obsessively until he came to the realization in high school that at 5 foot 8 his dreams of playing in the NBA weren't realistic and decided to go to college for business like so many others. While atten...

DJ Willie Wonka is a Minneapolis based music producer and DJ for underground rap legend Prof. Willie grew up in Chicago before moving to Minneapolis to attend college at the U of M and earned a degree in Applied Economics. Once he started making beats in his dorm room using a stolen computer program from Limewire his life was never the same. After graduating he worked regular jobs including being...

Nate Vomhof is a Milwaukee based drone photographer/videographer who's also a full time pharmacist. Nate first picked up a camera when he spent 6 weeks on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico as part of his rotations as a pharmacist fresh out of school. His passion for capturing architecture and nature grew and after moving to Milwaukee hit a bit of a roadblock. He started to struggle with finding w...

Dexter Patterson aka Wiscobirder is a professor at UW Madison and the co founder of the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin. Dexter has always loved nature and birds, but they really didn't become a focus in his life until 2010 when he saw a video of an osprey catching a fish and it blew his mind. Most people know Dexter as a bird enthusiast, but what a lot of people don't know is that he also played...

Ber is a independent music artist originally from Minnesota. Her parents had her in music programs from a young age and by the time she was in high school she was playing cover songs on her guitar at the open mic nights at the local Irish pub. After graduating she took a gap year and found herself in Norway learning about music, but also about life. Shortly after she was studying music at a univer...

Aaron Mader aka Lazerbeak is a Minneapolis based music producer and the CEO of Doomtree Records . His music career spans a quarter of a century and has amounted to producing over 600 songs that are all available to stream on Spotify anywhere in the world. Lazerbeak is mostly known as a hip hop music producer, but he actually got his start by playing the guitar as a kid. In fact his high school ban...

Bryan Munar is a musical theatre actor who currently plays the role of Orpheus in the National Tour of Hadestown. We recorded this episode at The Pablo Center before their performance on Thursday, January 23rd. Bryan was on the "regular" path for success in America. He graduated from college, moved to San Fransisco, and got a desk job making the most money he ever made in his life. The only proble...

Mitch Wachtendonk aka "mawdoods" is a mixed media artist based in Green Bay, Wisconsin known for his unique approach to creating art from recycled shoe boxes. This "Kixed Media" approach began with simple ink doodles on the tops of shoe boxes and has evolved into something that really has to be seen to be believed. Mitch has worked with huge companies including Spotify and Nike, but still spends t...

Ike Wynter is a true environmentalist known for creating one of a kind art pieces exclusively using wood found on the side of the road and in dumpsters. Not only is all the wood he uses found, but he also doesn't paint, stain, or alter the color of the wood he uses in any way. Over the last year his art has been featured on NBC, CBS, The Today Show, and more. He's worked with the NHL, MLB, NBA, Cr...

Darnell "Speedy" Artis is an official member of the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters who wears the number 3. He's known as the "fastest man on Earth" for his incredible dribbling abilities, but is also revered for his amazing accuracy as a long range shooter. Darnell made the Globetrotters team right after he graduated from Gywnedd Mercy University in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania. After a short s...

Tommy Vext is a platinum selling singer songwriter that first rose to fame for his iconic cover of the Cranberries mega hit song Zombie with his former band Bad Wolves. Tommy left the band in January of 2021 and has since toured internationally with the band Ill Nino and has also released 2 cover albums and 2 solo albums on his own. Tommy's life and career has had plenty of controversial moments,...

Grace Reiter is a content creator, actress, and comedian from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Grace was a guest on the show back in the Spring of 2022, but she had so much fun that she decided to come back for a round two. A lot has happened since our first interview. She's acted in her first feature film, performed for Saturday Night Live, joined the team at American High, graced the red carpet with C...