Friend Request

Corey is a drummer, father, podcast host, and all around great person. He discusses the toxic relationships he had with his parents growing up, as well as losing his mother to Lou Gehrig's disease when he was a teenager. Corey also talks about meeting his wife, starting a podcast, and how becoming a father changed his life. Check out Corey's great show about grief and its many forms, Emotional Duc...

Megan Melville is a dancer, performer, and brand ambassador leader. She discusses getting into trouble when she was growing up and how that manifested into drinking later in life. Megan also discusses being a dancer since she was two years old and how she made a career out of that passion until the pandemic hit. She also discusses how she decided to become sober and how she shifted her life, profe...

Kristina is a trauma and resilience worker, mother of two, and fellow Best Buy alumni. She discusses growing up with an estranged father, her love for education, and her close relationship with her sister. She also talks about the health issues she had with both of her children's births, including her second child being in the hospital for three months right after being born. Kristina also talks a...

Scott McGregor is a husband, an HR enthusiast, and an older brother. He discusses growing up with a focus on academics and a social life and how he kept his hometown friends close. Scott also discusses realizing he was gay and how the world became fragmented when he tried to keep everything seperate. He then talks about meeting his husband, getting married during a pandemic, and how he is able to...

Kirsten is a mother of three with a great sense of humor and agood handle on her trauma. She discusses growing up with older siblings and her parents in a small house, watching her parents' relationship lead to a divorce, and how she developed methods to protect herself as a child. Kirsten also discusses losing her father at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and what it was like discovering h...

Viktoria Capek is a news anchor, queer activist, and all-around performer. She discusses growing up with divorced parents and her difficult and distant relationship with her mother. Viktoria then talks about finding her path to storytelling through college and how that led her to journalism. She then discusses the impact religion played in her life and how some college classes and being part of th...

Mike Ross is a musician, marketing man, and all around swell guy. He discusses growing up as an older sibling and the effect his father's heart attack on him at 13 years old. Mike also discusses chasing his dream of being a professional musician, including his tours, recording sessions, and latest album release. He also gives us a look into what it's like being in sales and marketing for companies...

Katie Sassone is a horror movie fanatic, dog lover, and all around badass. She discusses growing up with her brother and her parents in a religious household, and questioning those beliefs. Katie also discusses the skills she learned in real world scenarios and a car crash that resulted in years of chronic pain and anxiety. Katie and Justin also discuss horror movies and get excited about Scream,...

Justin and his wife, Erica, sit down to go over 2021 and look forward to 2022. Special thanks to Talia Dalton for the theme music and all of our guests this year! Special thanks to our sponsors this year, BetterHelp online therapy, WellBeing Brewing, and Bravus Brewing. Use code FRIENDREQUEST at any of those to save 10% @FriendRequestPod JustinsFriendRequest@gmail.com

Alexis Roberts is a wellness coach and an expert in social engagement. She discusses her struggles with weight and the obstacles that stood in her way. Alexis also talks about losing her mother suddenly when she was 19 years old, and what effect that had on her at that time, as well as how it affects her now. Celebrating Dry January? Are you sober and awesome? Try out the delicious options over at...

Katie Mack is an actress, award-winning podcast host, and all around bad ass of a person. She discusses her life growing up in Michigan and discovering an outlet in drugs and alcohol at an early age. Katie also talks about how drugs pulled her out of Michigan and into Chicago and how acting pulled her out of drugs. Katie then goes into detail about how she decided to quit drinking and the tragic c...

Cat Johnson is an artist and recovering addict. She discusses her early years in addiction and the broken home she came out of as a child. Cat also talks about the death of her younger sister and the impact that had on her and her family. She then discusses how she got sober four years ago and what that journey has looked like along the way. You can follow along with Cat and her art on Instagram a...

Clara is a professional organizer, boss lady, mother, and all around delightful. She discusses meeting her husband in 6th grade, striving to be consistently busy, and moving across the country for work after college. Clara also discusses the challenges of being a mother and how to be your child's advocate when doctors are being dismissive. Then she shares the secret to a happy marriage with your h...

Don Wildman is the host of Cities of the Underworld and Mysteries at the Museum, as well as many other TV shows on the Travel Channel and the History Channel. Don discusses growing up in a family of educators and deciding to be an actor. He also talks about his early days acting in commercials and how he is the last generation of actors before the internet. Don answers questions about Cities of th...

Betty Kraft is a mother of two, and cousin to many. She discusses coming up in a very large family in a small town in Michigan and how the values she was raised with were transformed into how she was a parent. Betty also discusses the loss of family members over the years and the recent loss of a marriage. She then tells us a little about her first date and what it's been like watching a restauran...

Eva Trapp is a retired dancer, massage therapist, yoga practitioner, and so much more. She discusses growing up and moving around from town to town, the struggles she had with making new friends and the consistency she found in dance. Eva also talks about her work with Twyla Tharp and how getting pregnant ended her career on stage. She then discusses what's coming in the future and how your next t...

Amanda is an educator, wife, mother, and all around hipster. She discusses growing up with an emotionally abusive and unstable family, battling depression, and finding joy in independence and art. Amanda also talks about the struggles she had becoming a mother and how that subject is not discussed enough. Finally, Amanda talks about how she keeps her fingers near the pulse of new music. This episo...

Adam Bridgewater is an artist and early-adopter of things. In this amazing episode, he discusses how others' perception of him is not reality. Justin and him bond over shared insecurities, and he talks about his journey with art and how he has turned it into a career. Adam also discusses how he paid off his student loans and how seeing insecurity in an old girlfriend helped him change how he views...

Joi Andreoli is a recovery coach and LMFT. She discusses how she coped with her parents divorce, how she got sober, and her time in the film business. Joi also discusses being a yoga practitioner, meeting her husband, and giving back to the recovery community. You can follow Joi on Instagram at @JoiAndreoli Sober October is here and right now you can save 10% on your next order of delicious non-al...

Kara Bartram is a wife, mother, psychic medium, and MLM sales leader. Kara talks about her calling to explore and how that took her from Austrailia to New Zealand to London, where she ended up settling down and meeting her husband. She also discusses her views of motherhood, how woke up to her intuitive skills as a medium, and how she is becoming a leader in making women feel good about themselves...

Cory is a judge and board game enthusiast. She discusses growing up in a small town and the three books that hanged her life. Cory also discusses her weight and how she learned to love herself and hate running. Cory is a radiant ball of positive energy and I think you will feel the love when you listen. This month is Sober October, so if you're ready to give some non-alcoholic craft beer a try, ch...

Mindy is a nurse, mother of two, and a sober warrior! She discusses her early determination in school and getting another sister at 16. Mindy also discusses her insecurities in motherhood and going through a divorce. She finishes off with an inspiring story of how she ended up getting sober with the help of an unconventional program and books like This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. This episode of Fr...

Dustin Kring is a musician, husband, father and artist. He discusses the role music played in his life growing up, and how academics and finances were never his strong suits. Dustin also talks about having a daughter, becoming estranged, and reuniting nearly a decade later. He talks with the host, Justin Lamb, about playing music in bars and what the worst kind of requests are. Check him out at ww...

Arizona Lindsey is a mental health advocate and country music artist. She discusses her early childhood trauma and how it pushed her to be an advocate for people in distress, working with non-profits and expressing herself through song. Arizona also discusses her latest album, The Process, and the meaning behind some of the songs and how they relate to her own struggles with anxiety, depression, a...

Alysse Bryson is the founder of The Sober Curator and an all around bad ass. Alysse discusses growing up in Washington and finding out at an early age she enjoys partying. She also talks about sexual assault, having a child, and getting sober. Alysse shares how she turned her random jobs in pagers and newspaper ads into a lifelong career as Director of Fun, and how she created the Sober Curator. F...