The Common Legend

Ep. #020 - De Sittner.  You're not gonna want to miss my interview with this week’s legend De Sittner… De and I met in San Francisco while attending art school and I was instantly drawn towards his energy. De is originally from Chicago Illinois but moved to San Francisco to attend the Academy of Arts University, pursuing his dreams of becoming a professional actor. While in school De led the i...

Ep. #020 - Nick “Botanicus” Perko.  Nick isn't just crafting beats; he's cultivating a unique existence. From the eco-conscious hum of his audio recording studio to the organic textures of his electronic music, Nick's passion for the natural world infuses everything he does. Get ready for deep dives into music production, the stories behind his "Botanicus" tracks, and insights into running a green...

Meet Jerome Ruffin. For over a decade, he's been a fixture in Minneapolis nightlife, having climbed the ladder from busser to manager at one of the city's prominent gentlemen's clubs. But don't let the industry fool you. Jerome is a sharp, thoughtful individual with a surprisingly philosophical take on the world. He's deeply attuned to the societal stigmas faced by both the performers and the esta...

Ep. #019 - Kelsey Lynne. Kelsey is professional psychic medium, life guide, and healer based out of Boston Massachusetts. Kelsey was born with her gift but didn’t initially accept it, it wasn’t until she tragically lost her sister in an accident at the young age of 19 that she committed to exploring and understanding her abilities. Many years later Kelsey was hospitalized with a severe case of COV...

Ep. #017 - Sebastian Uzcategui. Sebastian is a dedicated entrepreneur, full-time trader, and passionate advocate for financial empowerment. Born in Venezuela and raised in Florida, he learned early on the importance of hard work, perseverance, and service to family and community. At 16, I founded my first business, and by 14, I had already discovered the stock market—a journey that ultimately led...

Ep. #016 - David Ramsden. David is a social media influencer who focuses on animal rights activism and is currently based out of Croatia. David has accumulated over 20 million views on YouTube with his videos that focus on educating people on the unethical and inhumane farming practices used around the world with the hope of encouraging people to make better choices when it comes to the products t...

Ep. #015 - Brandon Renegade. Brandon is a solo musician known for his energetic and thought provoking style, and he is actually the one who wrote and performed the current intro at the beginning of this podcast. He’s opened for many well know artists, such as but not limited to: Brett Michaels, puddle of mud, escape the fate and many more. Brandon and I discuss how mental health has inspired and s...

Ep. #014 - M. Thomsen. M is a multi-faceted creative powerhouse, whether it be making music, crafting intricate sculptures, or making a film, M’s style is sure to turn heads. We talk at length about his recent, and very first, full length feature film; “Tethered To The Ether”, which recently completed its film festival tour, receiving awards from around the globe. If you’re interested in checking...

Ep. #013 - Eben Pieterse. Eben is from South Africa and hands down one of the most outgoing and interesting people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting in my entire life. I think I can safely say that. Eben talks about his childhood living as a farmer or “Boer” and the various struggles that came with it, including, but not limited to, not having electricity until he was 14 years old. Like, can y...

Ep. #012 - Joshua Abendroth. Joshua is an avid gamer, passionate writer, tattoo enthusiast, and all around great guy. Josh goes into detail about his battle with an alcohol dependency, and how a forced intervention lead him from his lowest of lows to a life worth living We talk about how important it is to live in the present moment, why we all need to take the time to find ourselves and be happy...

Ep. #011 - Eve McQueen. Eve is a transgender woman with a love for animals, a practicing Wicken, and a recovering drug addict. I sit down and talk with Eve about the struggles and triumphs that she’s faced on her sexual identity journey as well as her battle with addiction, and her late life conversion from Christian to Wicken. We discuss the differences between mental and physical gender, her tho...

Ep. #010 - Josh Longawa. Josh is a successful business owner, loving father and recovered drug addict. Josh and I talk about his sober journey getting clean from alcoholism and a meth addiction. Find out how he went from losing his relationships with his children and having constant run ins with the law, to starting his own business and finding the love of his life while living clean and sober for...

Ep. #009 - Malinda King. Malinda has a masters in psychology and has spent the last ten years of her career working as a talk therapist. Malinda and I talk about how she practically accidentally fell into her career path, the struggles of being a therapist when the world needed them the most (during the pandemic), the link between spirituality and mental health, and the complications and frustrati...

Ep. #008 - Clare Hoogesteger. Clare is the lead actor in the independent film 'Tethered to the Ether', directed by Minnesota artist Michael Thomsen. Clare and I discuss how she decided to leave her psychology degree behind and pursue a career that she's truly passionate about, floral design. We discuss the challenges she overcame as the lead actor in a movie that took over 8 years to c...

Ep. #007 - Gerry Garcia. Gerry is a spiritually minded construction worker with a passion for the arts. We talk about his long career in the construction industry that eventually lead to starting his own business, the rise of our AI overlords in the fast-food industry, his struggles with helping a friend through their hospice journey, the profound impact that plant medicine has had on their life,...

Ep. #006 - Storm Hart. Storm is a kind hearted and nerdy video game tester with a Mingi bias... We talk about how their career shifted early on from cosmetology to videogame development, their journey discovering where they fall on the gender spectrum and the struggles growing up that came with it. Storm really opens up and unapologetically tells their story, this is an episode you won't want...

Ep. #005 - Britt Garrett. Britt is a spiritually minded visual merchandiser and my ex-wife that I married after knowing for a week in Las Vegas... But she's really so much more that just that. Britt open's up and talks about some very soft topics candidly. We talk about our interesting history and relationship dynamic, her lifelong spiritual journey, her struggles with substance abuse, and...

Ep. #004 - Doug Pagitt. Doug is an accomplished author and progressive evangelical pastor who's appeared on Fox News many times for his progressive stances. He started the church "Solomon's Porch" in south Minneapolis and recently co-founded the "Vote Common Good" initiative with the purpose of convincing evangelical Christians to vote for the 'common good'. We...

Ep. #003 - Adam Underwood. Adam is a loving father and accomplished tattoo artist of over 20 years, in fact, he's my tattoo artist! He talks about his long journey from apprentice to owner and how he almost walked away from his career and never looked back. We also touch on the effects that the pandemic had on his mental health, the impending TikTok ban, and what the hardest part of losing his...

Ep. #002 - Tory Paino. Tory is a former youth pastor turned comedian and entertainer with an outgoing and charismatic personality to match. Tory pours his heart out and shares about how his fathers influence as an evangelical pastor lead him down the same path and when he realized that it wasn't the job for him. We talk about the turmoil of his mental health breakdown and the internal battles...

Ep. #001 - Tom Hochbrunn. Tom, or TJ, is hands down one of the kindest and most genuine people that I've ever met. It's almost impossible not to crack a smile when he's around. Tom opens up about his struggles with mental health and self-harm and helps shed some light on the sensitive topics. We talk about how he overcame a sever meth addiction over the last decade that put him on the...