#72 - A Grow Culture - Graham Meriwether

Michael Wayne Foster breaks molds. Foster was a teacher in the high schools of his hometown when he started life after college. Pretty normal, but this larger than life dude is far from normal. 

It wasn't long after spending time in classrooms that he was presented with an opportunity for love... on season 3 of The Bachelorette. Earnestly, this dude packed up his things and moved to Hollywood. 

He didn't find the romantic love of his life on NBC in 2005... she would come much later. What he did find is that his fascination with the entertainment industry was, well... fostered. Fast forward nearly 20 years, and he's appeared in countless movies and sitcoms by now and graced the cover of over 900 romance novels. 

If that last bullet point interests you, take a minute to download this episode. It's one of the podcast instant classics and Michael shares some really thought provoking detail about the way that production is changing... for the worst. 

Escape from Status Quo with Michael Wayne Foster is available on all major podcast platforms. Don't forget to subscribe to conventioNOT to hear every new episode.

Dan Sinnott Sr has experienced more in a single lifetime than most families. He was a young man when he realized that the life of a Detroit Police Officer - and the negative experiences life as a cop brought wasn't for him.

Sure, lots of guys switch careers... but this guy, a man with a desire for adventure, decided to be an educator. You'll have to listen to the episode for the details, but Dan eventually moves halfway across the world, young family in tow. It's pretty obvious somewhere along the line, he also honed his talents as a storyteller. 

Mike and McD appreciate everyone who comes on the show. Dan, however, is a little more than a guest. He's Mike's dad. Interviewing your father is truly a special gift and pops presents story after story from very interesting times in America's history. Any listener that knows Mike can clearly hear where his personality and love for details was born. Listen to this instant conventioNOT classic now, available wherever you listen to podcasts. 

When Taylor Duerr first stepped onto the professional fight scene, he was already kind of a big deal. Not just because of his size, because of his heart. He's had plenty of nicknames in his career and Duerr, a former cruiserweight champion is the star of a newly released documentary, "We Can Be Heroes."

Taylor joins the guys just before the launch of the film and the "Machine Gun" fires on about some of the cool stuff that happens when promoting a movie, his true love for his family and opens up about the real struggles he's faced as a recovering addict.

Yea, you read that right, one of the Detroit's biggest and baddest fighters faces more than opponents in the ring. He carries a monkey on his back too. And he made a movie about it. 

You'll have to download the episode to hear more... but if you like stories about work ethic and comeback kids, let this dude inspire you.

Check out all of conventioNOT episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. Like our stuff? Subscribe. We'll keep serving it. 

When Jim Baudino first told his friends that he was leaving his acclaimed automotive career to get into the cannibis business, his friends undoubtedly wondered what he was thinking. The thing is, he'd always been looking for something more than traditional route for a kid from metro detroit who went to the University of Michigan and UCLA. 

Then he got into busines with Snoop Dog. No seriously, Baudino jumped from branding Toyota Camry's to helping a gernerational icon reframe an industry. What listeners will find is that the dude still hasn't looked back and carries his inspiration through to his family, passions and lifestyle. 

These days, the US consumes more than $15 billion in recreational pot and neither Jim, or the industry are slowing. Today, he spends his time searching and building trends.

You'll have to listen to the episode to hear the guys and Baudino get into financing and what he's most excited about in the world of weed in the next decade. 

conventioNOT is available on all podcast channels, YouTube and LinkedIn. First time listener? Take a minute to dig into our archives and hear 100+ hours of interviews with humans like Jim's. 

Dana Frost wakes up every day feeling life’s full effect. As a young person, she lost her spouse, Brad to cancer, fought her own battle with the disease and faced the realities that most people don’t see until much later in life. Thankfully, this cheerful guest found time to sit with Mike and McD on this host-favorite episode.

The thing about Dana is that she’s channelled the tragedy and has learned to be vulnerable in ways that we thing most listeners should pay attention to. Her husband left her 100 days after he was diagnosed and her inspiration afterward is unbelievable. Frost started the Forced Joy Project as a way to help herself… and others find happiness after loss. 

She never thought she was cut out for grief and this hour with Dana doesn’t just focus on the sad things - the guys are able to hear about her new and exciting endeavors, throw around coping strategies and more. 

We’re really proud to have met her and experienced her attitude, smile and shining light. You'll have to push play to find out more. 

conventioNOT is available on all major podcast channels, the gram and all the spots you look for quality content. Subscribe or browse our archives for more great conversations just like this one. 

Matt Allen lovingly recalls the days when his work was as simple as cleaning up oil spills. This lifelong scientist and creative thinker has now moved on to larger pastures, so to speak. Mike was excited to reconnect with Matt and to introduce Ryan, who he knew would instantly be interested by this guest. 

Certainly the episodes of conventioNOT lean toward science, data and nature - and this one touches all of our pillars quickly. Growing up in Canada, Matt talks about setting up an executive career that he enjoys today and shares infinite wisdom about traveling the globe from his home outside Toronto. These days, he leads his organization. 

That doesn’t lessen the dedication and ethic that he brings every day. Matt carries the same diligence over to his hobbies, including a somewhat functional farm that includes pigs, goats and plenty of detail oriented tasks to keep everybody wondering…. what will this guy do next?

Just like that, conventioNOT is nearing 100 hours of content. Funny to think that through all those interviews, teary stories and podcast bliss - Mike & McD have never recorded in the same room. After almost a decade of residence in Hawaii, Ryan finally made it out to share some sun and surf in the Aloha state. 

We spent the week consuming all that Oahu has to offer, from Honolulu's Kith Store to Kona beans and somehow Mike convinced Ryan to be on the hot seat and relive his best moments on the island. After poking some fun, we get deep on linking culture, satire and cynicism. Ryan’s low-lites and critique gets hilarious quick, picking apart island tourists and agriculture. 

McD's bourgeois outfits and style gets a little poke and Mike informs Ryan that he actually threw him in the surfing deep end when the couples took their vacation to the beach. Longtime listeners get more about the same but different personalities of our hosts, up to owning basically the same truck. 

Don’t worry - this isn’t just an episode about a dope vacation to make you jealous. There are some valid travel tips for Hawaii if you’re considering a visit. We cover inner-island travel, volcanoes and many of the coolest things you can see there. We threw some extra pics of the vacation up on the instagram channel if you want to explore further. Don’t forget to look us up and follow @conventioNOT_Podcast everywhere. 

Flint Mitchell is a unique guest who is busy stacking perspective. He’s an engineer, scientist, surfer, podcaster… and now author. What’s really cool about this guy is that he’s humble about the way opportunities arrive in his world. Listeners will find that this guy’s world started in a place that most of us are familiar with, but don’t really understand: the San Fransisco Peninsula, AKA Silicon Valley. 

He shares a bit about the very real perspective that growing up in the Valley can create. Just like the factories of Detroit, it’s not all roses. Mike and McD are somehow surprised by this, leading to insights and a marvelous self investigation from Mitchel. It’s easy to see that this guy is more interested in improving the world than anything else - even if he does like the Giants more than the Oakland A’s. 

Recently,  Flint published his first book, Seeking Authenticity. Much of this episode talks about his journey and excitement to release his thoughts and expand his world. The guys go all over the globe of subjects with this interview and we think our listeners will dig it. 

conventioNOT is available on all podcast channels, YouTube and LinkedIn. First time listener? Take a minute to dig into our archives and hear 100+ hours of interviews with humans like Flint. 

Eric Mannix is a competitor. Lots of senior leaders at big companies are. The CFO of Blue Water Systems is dedicated to growing the success of the manufacturing plants that he now runs. But there’s something a little different about Eric’s story.

What a lot of guys like Eric don’t share when walking the halls of facilities are why they do what they do. This episode sets that old-school mentality aside. Eric operates his life on a really cool philosophy: try something hard every day.

When he found himself in a misaligned internship just after college, he deployed that Detroit-bred idealism to start building bridges between factory floors and offices. 

Mannix shares with Mike and McD that he sees humility as a birthright after growing up a kid of Zug Island worker who spent his nights and weekends playing defense for the legendary Little Caesar’s youth hockey club. When he got cut from the team at age 16, he didn’t give up his lifelong sport… he adapted it. 

Now, nearly twenty some years later, Eric instills that do something hard everyday mentality in his kids and shares how he competes in ultra endurance sports today. You read that right, this guy doesn’t just get up hours before dawn for a workday, he trains and competes at the highest level in events like the Leadville endurance series and can teach you how to drive a Zamboni machine.  

If you just found conventioNOT through this episode, make sure you check out out our other episodes, just like this one on all podcast platforms. conventionot.com

Michigan State Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein joins the guys and holds court about issues near and dear to heart, career and his strong faith. Sure, the guy has been elected to one of the highest courts in America, but that’s only happened over the past few years and this conversation is very special. 

Prior to his current gig, Bernstein became a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan and earned his law degree from the Northwestern University School of Law. Justice Bernstein has also been elected for an eight-year term on the Board of Governors at Wayne State University. 

He also has served as an adjunct professor in the political science department at the University of Michigan. Luckily, he chooses to forego listing his resume for listeners during the episode, rather diving into his fire and the reason he drives so hard to create peace and opportunities for humans on earth. 

He continues to be a tireless advocate for disability rights as an attorney and runs marathons. That’s right, this blind guy, who stacks recognition and accolades like pancakes also runs thousands of miles. 

Mike and McD are left speechless more than once as Richard talks about how he stays motivated. Truly something to hear, straight from the Judge’s chambers. 

If you haven’t subscribed to conventioNOT or found your way to us through Richard’s camp, you can quick-launch your favorite podcast app at www.conventionot.com. The show is available anywhere you listen to media.