Voices on the Wind Podcast

Welcome to Episode 65 with Toby Lyles joined by Rudi Womack of Wyoming International Film Festival (WIFF). Rudi shares his incredible journey from making DIY zombie films in his Wyoming backyard to working with Marvel, directing feature length films on Amazon, to becoming the Executive Director of the Wyoming International Film Festival, now ranked in the top 1% of film festivals globally. This ep...

Welcome to Episode 64 with Toby Lyles joined by Cassidy Nation, owner of Sippin’ Sassy. Cassidy shares her inspiring story of building Sippin’ Sassy, a mobile bartending business operated out of a custom-designed horse trailer. What started as a cute idea in late 2020 became a test of entrepreneurial resilience as she faced engineering challenges, regulatory uncertainty, insurance barriers, and th...

Welcome to Episode 63 with Toby Lyles joined by Sarah Morey, founder and owner of Earthside Birth and Wellness Center. Sarah shares her journey from having a positive birth experience to starting Earthside Birth and Wellness Center, one of the first birth centers in Wyoming. This episode explores how a single empowering moment—recovery from breastfeeding struggles—sparked a decade-long mission to...

Welcome to Episode 62 with Toby Lyles joined by Dionne Roccaforte, LaShaye and Nicolas Hernandez, owners of Beautifully Savage. Beautifully Savage is a boxing studio built by Dionne, LaShaye and Nicolas that exemplifies how community becomes the foundation of business resilience. A business without its building can fail. A community without walls cannot. When you build something people genuinely b...

Welcome to Episode 61 with Toby Lyles joined by Tammy Shourds, owner of Compass Rose. Tammy Shourds shares her journey from retired military life to building a successful embroidery and custom apparel business that operates with a nonprofit heart. Operating in just 197 square feet initially, Compass Rose has grown into a 1,500 square-foot operation that prioritizes serving veterans and creating me...

Welcome to Episode 60 with Toby Lyles joined by Tate Schrock and Genee Vidakovich of Edge Flyte. This episode is full of motivational storytelling — celebrating local entrepreneurs, pivots, community impact, persistence, and creativity. Season 5 guests Edge Flyte (Tate and Genee) — evolution from weather balloons to CubeSats, scaling to 20+ countries, education-focused STEM kits for schools, a big...

Welcome to Episode 59 with Toby Lyles joined by Denise Hawkins. In this inspiring episode, we hear from an entrepreneur and artist who turned a life-altering stroke into a journey of resilience, creativity, and reinvention. After building a successful business from the ground up, she faced an unexpected challenge when she suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2012. What followed was a story of courage, d...

Welcome to Episode 58 with Toby Lyles joined by John Chernogorec owner of Downtown Vinyl. In this episode, we dive into the inspiring story of John, a former Marine and Bureau of Land Management employee, who traded a structured government career for the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship. Through music, memories, and unwavering determination, John found the courage to chase his dream of owni...

Welcome to Episode 57 with Toby Lyles joined by Katerra Skinner and Uriah Gracia Salinas, owners of Atlas PT Performance. In this episode, Uriah and Katerra share their journey from humble beginnings to launching their own physical therapy business. Uriah opens up about growing up as the child of Mexican immigrants, the values of hard work and perseverance instilled by his parents, and the drive t...

Welcome to Episode 56 with Toby Lyles joined by Sabine McClintock. This episode is a reminder that entrepreneurship doesn’t start with brilliance—it starts with showing up when something needs to be done. Our guest shares how she stepped into organizing a homeschool craft market—not because she felt uniquely qualified, but because there was a gap and someone had to fill it. What followed was a pow...

Welcome to Episode 55 with Toby Lyles joined by Hannah Michaud, owner of PixelPay. What if your best idea isn’t the one you start with—but the one you almost gave up on? In this episode, we follow a scrappy startup journey that started with failed ideas, health struggles, and a literal “idea graveyard”… and turned into a real, revenue-generating tech company. This is a story about betting on yours...

Welcome to Episode 54 with Toby Lyles joined by Troy and Mikaela Strand owners of Ranch Eats. In this episode, we dive deep into the journey of leaving corporate life behind to chase a dream in the food industry. Our guest shares 24 years of experience—from mom-and-pop shops to corporate kitchens—and the moment they realized the politics and bureaucracy of corporate food service were holding them...

Welcome to Episode 53 with Toby Lyles and guest Cecilia Villar-Baldera, a professional balloon artist who turned her love for creativity into a full-time business, sharing her journey from being a traditional career-driven individual to embracing her true passion. In today’s episode, we dive deep into Cecilia’s inspiring story of discovering her passion for balloon twisting and turning it into a f...

Welcome to Episode 52 with Toby Lyles interviewing Lori and Gil Chavez, owners of Creator, Created, Create. In this episode, we dive into an inspiring entrepreneurial journey from humble beginnings to building a thriving business. The couple behind Creator, Created, Create opens up about their personal story — starting with a small, in-home salon, then venturing into the world of cocoa bombs, craf...

From Iraq to Art Shows | A Veteran’s Reinvention Story Welcome to Episode 51 with Toby Lyles and Josh Buettner co-founder of J&B Designs. He thought he was going to be a pharmacist. He scored a 96 on the PCAT — higher than the average accepted at the University of Washington. But his GPA wasn’t enough. So he went another route. He joined the Army National Guard a month before high school graduatio...

Welcome to Episode 50 with Toby Lyles and Mel Turner, owner of Interaction Amusement Experience. In this episode, we dive into the journey of a 21-year Air Force veteran who transitioned from a structured military life to the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship. From discovering his identity and purpose to overcoming fear and rejection, he shares a deeply personal story about following a visio...

Welcome to Episode 49 In this episode, Toby Lyles sits down with Cleyton Bauer, a former Army medic turned entrepreneur who shares his inspiring journey from the military to owning a successful snow plowing and handyman business. After experiencing the highs and lows of the healthcare system, including the frustration of being restricted from using his skills to save lives, he pivoted to start his...

Welcome to Episode 48, season 4 finale with Toby Lyles and Jessica Lyles, owner of Lavender and Yarrow Studios. Husband and wife team up to review all of the season 4 interviews. With so many powerful businesses and organizations interviewed we can’t help but highlight them again and offer what we learned from each person. Sneak peek conversations into newly created Lavender and Yarrow Studios. Jo...

Welcome to Episode 47 with Toby Lyles and Murad Aljalamdeh, founder of Cheyenne Young Professionals. What do you do when you have a degree… but no job? In this episode, Murad shares the raw story of graduating with an engineering degree — only to sit unemployed for nearly a year. Applications sent everywhere. No callbacks. Blame from others. Doubt creeping in. Instead of waiting for the “perfect”...

Welcome to Episode 46 with Toby Lyles and Carolyn Ritschard, founder of Adopt an Airman. What if the thing that feels hardest… is actually your calling? When Carolyn and her husband joined the Air Force, they thought it would be temporary. Three years. That was the plan. Instead? 23 years. 11 moves. 8 states. 3 foreign countries. Three continents in one year. But the hardest part wasn’t the logist...

Welcome to Episode 45 with Toby Lyles and JazMinn Jackson, owner of The Louise Event Center. In this episode, we dive into the inspiring journey of a woman who transformed her love for creativity and event planning into a successful business. Starting with small birthday parties and backyard gatherings, she has now become the go-to event planner in her town, managing everything from weddings to co...

Welcome to Episode 44 Bobbi Collins, an inspiring entrepreneur who shares her powerful journey from addiction to redemption, from living in poverty to building a business with a mission to help others. She discusses her challenges, motivations, and how her faith and determination led to the creation of a community-centered business. Highlights * Early Life Struggles * The Struggles of Sobriety and...

Welcome to Episode 43 Most people don’t talk about the moment *before* everything changes—the uncertainty, the quiet risk, the leap that doesn’t come with a guarantee. This episode lives in that moment. It’s the story of leaving a comfortable career path, saying yes to a call that didn’t make sense on paper, and moving to a new town with nothing but belief, preparation, and work ethic. No industry...

Welcome to Episode 42 What happens when preparation meets opportunity—but with almost no safety net? In this episode, Toby Lyles invites Eloy Martinez to share a raw, unfiltered story of how curiosity, work ethic, and resilience can turn accidents into opportunity. Eloy walks us through his journey from washing dishes in high school to spending 15 years in a restaurant, learning lessons far beyond...

Welcome to Episode 41 In this episode, Stephan reflects on growing up in Mississippi, learning the art of conversation in his grandfather’s mercantile store, and how those early lessons shaped his approach to business, community, and podcasting. He shares the story behind launching a podcast rooted in connection, storytelling, and preserving local history — even when it wasn’t financially lucrativ...