It's About To Go Down! with Marc & Cathey

In this episode of It’s About to Go Down! , Marc and Cathey engage in an insightful conversation with Kareem McQuilkin, a passionate educator, husband, and father of three. Kareem shares his innovative concept of the Imagination Cipher , a practice of keeping one’s creative energy alive through community and continuous exploration. From personal stories of his children's boundless creativity to re...

In this episode of It’s About to Go Down! , Marc and Cathey sit down with Paul Brown, President of a tech recruiting company and a passionate advocate for social issues. Paul brings a fresh perspective to the issue of homelessness in Portland, exploring how vacant office spaces could be creatively repurposed to provide safe shelter for the unhoused community. As Paul shares his journey, listeners...

In this episode, Cathey and Marc talk with Kathryn Madison, the rockin’ grandmother and CEO of Dye Candy. From her diverse background in hairdressing, residential real estate, and entrepreneurship, Kathryn shares how “flexible creativity”—the ability to adapt, play, and break routine—can bring new life to both personal and professional pursuits. Kathryn emphasizes that creativity comes with resili...

  “It’s hard to read the label when you are inside the jar. So I am a jar label reader.” - Gina Riley, a career transition coach, and All-Star Trainer. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Gina about how to communicate your unique journey so that you can be heard. They chat about the power of combining your strengths, values, and the “thread” from your first job. They explore the impact of u...

  “Don’t wake up planning on failure. Just plan on problems and hurdles, and getting over them. Try to fail fast so that [you] can recover quick.” - Colin Ho-Shing, an inventor who’s been nicknamed “The Fountain of Interesting”. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Colin about how to make your idea camera ready. They chat about the process of designing, creating, and thinking about an idea....

“It takes a lot to make things happen, especially when you are in the trenches.” - Lisa Shroeder, founder and executive chef of Mother’s Bistro & Bar. In this episode, Marc and Cathey chat with Lisa about how to market an idea in transition. It takes a lot to market a business, to keep it going, to reinvent it. You always have to be new and different. They explore how to ensure your vision liv...

“Life is not perfect but life is perfect when you know how to navigate it.” - Richard Symister, Physical Therapist and Strength & Conditioning Coach. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Richard about unveiling intrinsic wealth, abundance, and “gushiness”. They explore several concepts: prosperity consciousness, abundant moments, and wealth elements. During this idea-conversation, they d...

“We love the art of talking about good ideas and storytelling and teaching people.” - It's About to Go Down with Marc & Cathey. In this “rap-up” episode, Marc and Cathey highlight the ideas that were shared during season 9. They shared their favorite nuggets from each of the idea conversations, talked about how they lived out these concepts in their own lives, and recapped strategies you c...

"It’s not about letting go of our trauma; it’s about loving ourselves through it.” - Jon Hoole, Cathey’s awesome husband. Marc and Cathey talk with Jon about the concept of an Inner-versary: a sacred holiday for yourself. They explore how to build upon an idea through an introspection of lived experiences and traumas, an intention for joy and forgiveness, and a series of  self-reflective ques...

“Advertising shouldn’t interrupt in a gross way. A part of being beautiful is not being perfect” - Rebecca Armstrong, co-founder & CEO of North (an ad agency in Portland, Oregon). Marc and Cathey talk with Rebecca about the concept of real being beautiful and prioritizing truth over trickery. They explore the key to beautiful truths in advertising and in our personal lives: consider what is go...

“Everything you need to know about land use planning is Dirt and the Mona Lisa.” - Sam Diaz, Tedx speaker and Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Oregon. Marc and Cathey talk with Sam about how to make the topic of land use planning sound “cool”. They explore several “cool factor” strategies: personal narratives that reveal your authenticity and what inspired your passion for the topic, stories...

  “When you are looking for the wrong thing, it is hard to find Big Love.” - Traci Rossi, Executive Director of Friends of the Children, the Portland Chapter (one of the 36 chapters that mentors youth). Marc and Cathey talk with Traci about the concept of Big Love, what makes it challenging, and how to make it work. They explore how storytelling can reveal what makes your idea important to you and...

  “Being obnoxiously flairy with your authenticity, you can be just who you need to be, and it’s okay’. That is gold.” - Chris Smith, a dude from the Res, living his best Res life. Marc and Cathey talk with Chris about his concept of “fuckery and flair”. They explore how to transition your idea from theoretical to specific, from level 1 to level 2 of implementation, from authentic language to stag...

”Be ready for it, be bold, and take action.” - Penny Wood, business leadership success coach. Marc and Cathey talk with Penny about her tre P’s for success: Pause. Pivot. Push forward. They explore how to explain the action steps of an idea by using metaphors, storytelling, and specific instances of people who have implemented these actions. They also discuss how to pose questions in a particular...

“Living through the lens of joy always puts you in a world of discovery.” - Dr. Laura LaJoie, chiropractor and doctor of joy. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Laura about the idea of identifying the 12 common threads of joyful people. They explore how to break down your idea into multiple parts, the power of creating metaphors for your concept, the significance of determining an order fo...

“Make the unconscious conscious.” - Darren Fleming, author of Mindset Mastery. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Darren about the idea that we all have everything we need; therefore we can drop habits and disciplined behaviors. They explore the impact of using simplicity to convey an idea (such as: Be at choice), transforming a concept into a question that becomes a checklist for the audi...

“There’s no shot clock with transitions.” - Kristeena Alexander, WNBA veteran, transformational coach, and storyteller. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Kristeena about how to grow from your continuous transitions. They explore the process of how to help audiences to change their lens on a topic, one quarter at a time,so that they can receive your message. During this idea-conversation,...

“The innovation-practice needs innovation.” - Marcus Hollinger and Josh Ruff, the co-founders of Stoked and the concept of Idea Science. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Marcus and Josh about combining music, neuroscience, and practical tools to solve business problems. They explore the process of challenging conventional practices, thinking in solitude, releasing preconceived notions, a...

“It’s important not to have the judgment for those of us who chose not to do that.” - Lauren Williams, school counselor and wife. In this episode, Cathey talks with Marc and his wife Lauren about the importance of diversity. They explore the complexities of growing up in one community while being curious about other identities. The discussion attempts to figure out how to address and express the b...

“Don’t just think smart. Think with a vision.” - Yasin Ehsan, CEO of Headstarter and 10x Hackathon winner. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Yasin about his concept of career capital. They take a deep dive into the idea to unpack its many layers, including how to become an M-shaped individual, how to maintain a competitive edge with less experience and how to choose wisely the people in y...

“If you can tell your story in a manner that will get everyone’s hooks in it, they will love you forever…because they can’t hate you.” - Trevor Beaman, speaker and Green Beret who served 25 years in the Army, including 5 deployments in Afghanistan. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Trevor about his idea: The Power of an Opportunity. They explore how to address a message from two perspecti...

  “What would you do if you didn’t have to work? Five years from now, things are going to look very different than they are today.” - Steve Brown, futurist and expert in all things AI. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Steve about his idea about how to build a better future through a partnership with AI/AGI technology. They explore how to get your audience beyond the fear of implementing...

“Change is a door that you have to open from the inside.” - Jimbo Clark, BOX Creator and co-founder of Brains on the Beach. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Jimbo about his idea for changing the world by changing your box/by changing yourself from within. They explore how to transform a 2-hour training into a 17-minute TED Talk; how to turn a metaphorical concept into a concrete habit fo...

 “This came from my inability to create content. I needed the stimulation of other people.” - Dan Strum, founder of the Fight Club for Public Speaking. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Dan about his idea for taking the individuality out of public speaking, by using the stimulation of others to craft a talk. Dan refers to it as “socializing your idea”. Along the way, they explore what to...

“If there is something you are legitimately interested in, for whatever reason, you should try. And you don’t need to justify that interest to anybody else other than yourself.” - John Lund, speaking and alternative sports champion - In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with John about the need to pursue terrible ideas, or rather unconventional things that might seem like a terrible idea. They di...