Seacoast Stories

Max Pruna had never tasted specialty coffee. But one day at Northeastern University in the mid 2010s, craft coffee pioneer George Howell poured Max the cup of coffee that would change his life. Inspired by this one sip, Max then dedicated his life to learning everything about craft coffee, eventually leading him to open La Mulita Coffee in Rye, N.H., now one of the most beloved shops on the Seacoa...

Gabbie Kelly ran away from her home in Auburn, N.H. In her 17-year-old mind, it was the only way she could begin to create the fiercely independent life and career she sought for herself. She wanted a fancy title in accounting, and then a husband, house, and a baby ... all before the age of 30. And she got all of that and then some. Today, at 35 years old, Gabbie Kelly is "The Profit Mama." No lon...

Alyssa Pine felt like a fraud. While running the first Live Freely Fest at Smuttynose Brewing last fall, Alyssa was quietly closing her own shop, a storefront in Hampton where she sold her Live Freely merchandise. But after seeing the success of the market, one of the most boomin' business days in Smuttynose history, Alyssa had accidentally stumbled upon her next project: The Live Freely Marke...

Ashley Ryall wanted to get the f*ck out. A native of the small town of Weare, N.H., she dreamt of escaping small-town life as soon as possible. When college in Connecticut offered that opportunity, she took it and ran with it. And after studying abroad in Australia, an experience that completely opened up her worldview, Ashley vowed to live a life of adventure from that point forward. Except it di...

Alexis Morton wanted to get together with other women on the Seacoast. However, as a stay-at-home mom during the pandemic, she couldn't find any groups of women who wanted to partake in fun Seacoast activities. So she started that group herself: Well Lived Women, a Seacoast-based women's group that's attracted nearly 1500 attendees since 2022. In this group, women of all demographics gather at var...

Kira Lew wanted out of radio. After working in an environment that didn't bring out the best in her, she considered leaving the industry she had fallen in love with a few years prior. But she decided to stick it out. And then everything started falling into place. A few years later, Kira made history by becoming the first female morning show lead in the 54-year history of WOKQ, the Seacoast&#3...

Will Myska always wanted to be an executive chef. But with three kids at home, he doubted whether he'd have the ability to go all in on the restaurant of his dreams. So instead, he stayed the course, choosing to work and learn under some of the top chefs on the Seacoast perhaps longer than he needed to. Until one day, chef David Vargas (Vida Cantina) sat Will down and asked him, "What&#39...

Ankati Day gave up the blueprint. After years spent searching for her purpose in the deep woods of The White Mountains, the open fields of Missoula, Mont., and the jungles of Costa Rica, the now-yoga teacher eventually returned home to Maine with the realization that the linear path society bred her to take was simply not for her. From Shiloh Farm in Eliot, Maine, host Troy Farkas⁠ sits down with...

In this special Valentine's Day bonus video episode, host Troy Farkas welcomes Dover's own Kelly Anderson of the "Significant Lovers" podcast to talk all things love, dating, breakups, relationships, and of course, Seacoast coffee shops. From the cozy confines of the Portsmouth Public Library, the two discuss: Seacoast networking (00:00) Why we LOVE love (02:40) Why breakups suck...

Nissa Bagelman grew up in the book business. In fact, she spent many childhood days at a popular indie bookstore, Reedmor Books, in Center City Philadelphia in the early 90s. It was the family business. Her great grandfather opened Reedmor in 1928, and he passed it down to generations of Bagelmans. But when buying books online became commonplace, the Reedmor business suffered. In the early 2000s,...

Paige Lindsey is ... a lot. (Those are her words.) The 34-year-old, who has nearly 18,000 Instagram followers, is a self-described member of Gen Z trapped in a millennial body. She's full of energy, feels deeply, loves intensely, and is unlike anyone you've ever met before. And on today's episode, the Exeter-based artist tells host Troy Farkas about the rollercoaster that's led her...

Jay Collins left his house every morning at 2:45 to get to work. In his eyes, that's what obsessed people do. And it's that grit and dedication which led him to create MaxEdge Fitness, a beloved Seacoast gym that lasted 11 years before the pandemic wiped it away. Then, standing in the ruins of the business he and his family poured everything into, Jay emerged from the pandemic with a visio...

Mackenzie Logan vowed to never open a restaurant. A veteran of the hospitality industry, she understood the extremely taxing nature of the business. She knew she wanted to run her own business one day, but she promised she'd wait until the Universe presented her with the right opportunity at the right time. That opportunity came during the throes of the pandemic, when Mackenzie finally found t...

Evan Hennessey wanted to come back home. After working in some of the most famous fine dining restaurants in New York City and Chicago, the Dover native felt the Seacoast pleading with him to return to the place that raised him. And when he returned in 2012, he opened a restaurant unlike anything Dover had ever seen before. Stages , located at One Washington in downtown Dover, offers a progressive...

In front of a SOLD OUT crowd at The Press Room in downtown Portsmouth, it's the first episode of Season 2, and the first podcast in the history of one of Portsmouth's most beloved locations. In this very special episode, host Troy Farkas opens the show by speaking to past guests Rae and Ryan Lambert about the Seacoast dance community, people's intense desire to connect with one another, trying to...

*UPDATE* If you don't have your ticket yet for Thursday's LIVE podcast at The Press Room, please arrive at 6 p.m. when the doors open to try to get a standing room-only spot. For the first 20+ years of her life, soccer was all that Katy Marshall knew. It was her entire identity. But when reality set in that she wouldn't play professionally, panic ensued. What was her purpose without sports, and wh...

"Seacoast Stories" was born the night that Troy Farkas hosted "The Found Generation" live at The Music Hall Lounge in downtown Portsmouth on March 25, 2024. After that night, Troy realized he needed to do something different, which led him to create a show that would focus only on the amazing people of the Seacoast. On today's episode, we air the ENTIRE live show from that special night, which giv...

In the final episode of Season 1 of "Seacoast Stories," host Troy Farkas revisits 10 of the top moments from the season, offering his own insights about the behind-the-scenes of the podcast, the friendships he's made through the show, the impact the show has had on the Seacoast community, and so much more. The top 10 moments are as follows: Season 1 finale intro (00:00) Comedian Nick Callas needs...

Troy Farkas listened to his first podcast when he was a depressed 21-year-old. Exhausted, lonely, and purposeless while working at ESPN in Bristol, Conn., Troy dreamt of the days he could create his own blogs, books, and podcasts while traveling the world. But, rather than let his hopelessness destroy him, Troy took the opportunity to learn from the very best in the world so that one day, he'd be...

*The first "Seacoast Stories" LIVE podcast is Thurs. 1/9 at The Press Room in Portsmouth! Expect special guests, major discounts, cash prizes⁠, and merchandise. Snag your tickets here⁠ to guarantee a seat.* Eric Cacciatore was sleeping in his listeners' backyards. That's all he could afford to do. A podcast host with only a few dollars in his pocket in the late 2010s, Eric committed himself to tra...

*The first "Seacoast Stories" LIVE podcast is Thurs. 1/9 at The Press Room in Portsmouth! Snag your tickets here to guarantee a seat.* For small businesses on the Seacoast, a strong social media presence is a non-negotiable. However, staying relevant in a content-saturated world is becoming increasingly difficult. Furthermore, the social media platforms constantly change the rules. What worked las...

Raechel and Ryan Lambert want to get people together. Human beings are wired to connect with one another in real life. However, as our lives become increasingly digital, we're also getting more lonely. And today's guests, two Silicon Valley standouts who now live on the Seacoast, are on a mission to address this urgent problem. Their solution? River , an app that brings like minded-people together...

Japan...9/11...and farmer's markets? Most Seacoast stories don't involve these components. But for Jonathan Blakeslee, the owner of the very popular White Heron Tea & Coffee, they're critical elements of a story that you have to hear to believe. From the roasting room at White Heron located in the West End of Portsmouth, founder/owner Jonathan and I discuss: Jonathan's Japan experience (00:00)...

Competent. Clear. Compelling. According to Michael Cinquino, these are the traits of an effective communicator. He calls it the 3C Method, and it's a philosophy that he swears by. A combination of lessons learned from his world-class acting teachers, four years in the U.S. Navy, a past career advising CIOs, teaching at UNH, and running his own small business, the 3C Method is the North Star for a...

We all want to be our own bosses. Honestly, who actually enjoys taking orders from somebody else? Don't we all spend most of our days dreaming and scheming about all the better ways we could spend our time, if only we could work up the courage to take the leap? Today's guest, Andrea Schwanbeck , is all too familiar with that inner dialogue. She engaged with it for years, waiting and waiting for th...