It’s Not A Straight Line

In Episode 50 of It’s Not a Straight Line , I sit down with a longtime friend: Whitney Bell, Chief Marketing Officer of the Toronto Tempo — Canada’s first WNBA franchise, tipping off in May 2026. We talk about motherhood, building Canada’s first WNBA team, and why women’s sports is a movement — not just a moment . Whitney takes us behind the scenes of launching a brand-new franchise, including the...

Kendra Fisher was on track for Olympic greatness—a standout goaltender with Team Canada’s hockey program who once heard the words every athlete dreams of: You made the Olympic team. But during those tryouts, her mental health had a different plan and her life changed directions. In this episode of It’s Not A Straight Line , Kendra opens up about the five-year stretch that nearly broke her, and the...

On this episode of It’s Not A Straight Line , I was joined by Michael Downey, a leader who left his mark on Tennis in Canada. His career journey started far from the courts and it is anything but a straight line. He is the former CEO of Tennis Canada and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) in Britain, and currently serves as Chair of the Advisory Committee for the greater (a strategy consulting firm...

On this episode of It’s Not A Straight Line , I’m joined by Clayton Peters, producer, writer, and long-time manager of his brother, global comedy icon Russell Peters. For almost 20 years, Clayton has been at the helm of Russell’s remarkable career, managing one of the longest and most successful runs in comedy, with Russell selling out venues worldwide since 2005. Clayton’s journey into management...

On Episode 46 of the It’s Not A Straight Line podcast, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Hugh Lawson, a business development expert, Vanier Cup football champion, and leadership advisor. As the Principal at Lawson Leadership Advisory, Hugh is a purpose-driven, people-centric leader who embodies the principles of Ikigai—finding the intersection of what the world needs, what you love, what you...

Join us for an inspiring episode as I sit down with Matty and Alex Hill, better known as the Hill Brothers. Matty, Founder and Commissioner of Niagara Youth Flag Football (NYFF), is celebrated as one of Canada's top flag football coaches, having led teams to two World Championships. Meanwhile, Alex, a Sales Representative at RE/MAX Escarpment Realty and renowned for his dynamic career in real esta...

We're thrilled to welcome Wayne Hannah, the mastermind behind "Mindful'Ish" on YouTube and "@goodmorningassholes" on TikTok. Wayne is a humorist, content creator, firefighter, and veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces. After serving 20 years as an artillery soldier, Wayne's journey took him from counteracting Somali pirates to injecting humour into the "dry morning announcements" on a Naval Vessel...

Discover the inspiring journey of Monique Giroux, a former corporate banker turned soulful guide. Once the powerhouse behind sponsorship at a major Canadian bank, Monique's path took a surprising turn after nearly two decades in the corporate world. Now, as the founder of Flourish with Monique, she's dedicated to helping others find peace and purpose in life. Join Monique as she shares her transfo...

On this episode, I sat down with Chris Reynolds - the Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Investment Planning Counsel (IPC). When Chris co-founded IPC in 1996, he set out on a mission to help entrepreneurial financial advisors build better businesses. Since then, he has remained committed to this mission, which continues to be the focus at IPC, which was acquired by Canada Life in 2023. Chris has sp...

Join me for an insightful and energizing conversation with Olympic Figure Skating champion and On-Air Broadcast Commentator, Kaetlyn Osmond. In this episode, Kaetlyn shares the highs and lows of her incredible journey, from winning a silver in the Figure Skating Team Competition at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi to winning bronze in the Women’s Singles event and gold in the team competition at...

On this episode, I had a captivating conversation with Igor Lukač, an inspiring entrepreneur who navigated life's challenges with resilience and determination. Igor shares his journey from fleeing the former Yugoslavia with his family during the tumultuous Yugoslav Wars to building a successful career in Canada. After earning degrees in Engineering and Business from the prestigious Ivey Business S...

I sat down with Eduek Brooks, a Financial Educator & Coach and the Founder of Two Sides of a Dime. As an immigrant to Canada from Nigeria, Eduek completed her Master's degree in Chemical Engineering and has a certificate in Business Technology from the University of Waterloo. From working in Engineering to Lifestyle Creep and finding herself in $47,000 of debt, Eduek takes us behind the scenes...

This episode is an exploration of grief and resilience with Dina Bell-Laroche, a Partner at Sport Law and the Founder of Grief Unleashed. Dina shares her journey through grief, triggered by the untimely passing of her younger sister Tracy (when Dina was 31 years of age). You'll hear how Dina initially navigated her sister's death by trying to be stoic, brave and courageous, but found hope, meaning...

In this episode, Kevin Craig shares his remarkable journey across continents, careers, and personal transformations. Kevin's life has been anything but a straight line. From growing up in the UK and Muscat to establishing a call centre in Delhi, India to venturing into a scuba diving business, to building a thriving coaching business in Bahrain, and much more in between. Kevin is a Master Certifie...

On this episode of "It's Not A Straight Line," we are joined by Lauren Ammon, a former athlete turned mental performance coach. Lauren's journey in sports began at the young age of five when she was "thrown" into the pool with her older sisters and swam her first race. She went on to achieve remarkable successes, including winning a U.S. High School Championship, a top three finish in the Mid-Amer...

What stood out about Eric's story - aside from his tenures at entertainment powerhouses like Cirque du Soleil and Just For Laughs - was the lessons he learned from the record label (Grenadine Records) that he started in University and ran for six years. If he could go back in time, he said he wouldn't have been so strict with what the record label had to be. They were "after" two sounds, and it re...

What amazed me about Andrew Case's story was how his entrepreneurial journey unfolded. After two years in Sales at Xerox, Andrew and his colleague from Xerox took the sales skills and training they learned and launched a sales consulting company. They focused on going to small and medium-sized businesses and would offer sales training based on their Xerox sales training. Andrew and his partner wou...

Kevin Rempel made a major shift at the end of 2022. He sold his beloved business, the Sledge Hockey Experience, shifted his speaking business, started to build new training programs, and moved from Canada to the Dominican Republic. What strikes me about Kevin is his mindset and his ability to say "yes" to things that will improve his life. When speaking with his sister about how good he...

Andrea Shaw is the owner and founder of TTG Canada, one of Canada's leading sponsorship and marketing agencies. She started TTG (formerly TwentyTen Group) around her kitchen table after working as the Senior Vice-President Sponsorship, Sales, and Marketing at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games.  What strikes me about Andrea is her passion for partnerships, sports marketin...

Chris Coulter co-led a successful business that went bankrupt after 18 years, he tragically lost his 14-year-old daughter to mental health, and he is the Executive Director of "How Are You Feeling?" and Owner of the Finish Line Group.  Chris' life mission is to scale "How Are You Feeling?" to get it into as many schools as possible. He knows the importance of kids being ab...

After close to ten years working at marketing agencies, John Sime decided he wanted something new. Him and one of Canada's leading ad agencies "broke up" only a month before the global pandemic, he was in for a lengthy job search during a time that challenged all of us. John wanted to break into another industry and he stayed true to that desire, ignoring the external "noise.&q...

This is my inaugural "solo" episode. After 29 episodes, I reflect on the learnings, advice and thoughts that have been generously and vulnerably shared with you and me. From guest to guest, there have been consistent themes:  Have patience and trust the process Develop grit, persistence and focus Be authentic to self Almost each of the 29 episodes is referenced in this insight-packed 30...

Have you ever jumped in “ice-cold” water… “I am a big believer in jumping in the cold water and letting it warm up around you… but I won’t lie, there were sleepless nights" - Jason on jumping into entrepreneurship from the corporate world. Jason is a President, Leadership Coach and Professional Speaker that works with companies on their talent strategy. He believes in strategy to results thro...

Jennifer Nunes is the definition of someone with strength, #resiliency, #vulnerability and self-awareness. On this episode, Jen states “This is our upbringing too...this is intergenerational stuff where we are taught [to be] stoic and strong, and being non-emotional is strength and the reality is actually quite the opposite. It's when we get in touch [with ourselves] and the truth is, we need...

After his college football career and University undergraduate degree, Andy Vasily and his wife moved to Hiroshima, Japan. What they thought would be a six-month adventure turned into ten years in Japan and over 25 years working globally. Andy is a cognitive coach, educator, workshop facilitator and the host of the Run Your Life Podcast (200+ episodes).  What amazed me about Andy is his understand...