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ABOUT THE SHOW
It’s my supposition that the most remarkable among us have found ways to bring their circumstances, character traits, and values together to build extraordinary realities. These people fascinate me - and I bet they fascinate you, too. By hearing these stories, we can adopt a rogue lifestyle with a bend toward the remarkable.
My name is Leslie Eiler Thompson and I am the host and creator of The Rogue Ones podcast, in which I curated conversations with 22 extraordinary folks doing fascinating things - fearlessly living remarkable lives and deciding a straight path from point A to point B is boring. They’re going rogue.
This podcast will provide countless “aha!” moments as you make your way through your rogue journey. All these folks are fellow rogue ones - and they have heaps of wisdom and life hacks for you to borrow.
These rogues, all successful in their varied fields, openly share stories of failure, success, insecurity, lucky-breaks…and they are hand-picked for those who listen to the podcast series, desperately wishing to live with a bend toward the remarkable.
This series lies in no-man’s land between an entrepreneurship and human interest podcast. Sometimes my remarkable guests want to talk business, sometimes they want to talk life. All of them want to share wisdom and encourage us to live remarkably while doing the things we are led toward.
THE 22 ROGUE ONES (episodes):
Barry Rice is a Vietnam Veteran - and lives everyday with the reminder of his time serving our country as he manages non-hotchkin’s lymphoma - which he contracted in Vietnam, as many did.
Charlie Ashworth, known professionally as producer/composer/arranger/mastermind Charlie Peacock, has worked in music and with artists most of his life. Guiding, forming, and creating music into work that sets trends for the next generation of music-makers. Standing beside him for over 44 years is his wife, Andi Ashworth, who is a care giver and published author.
Dave Tate, retired powerlifter and trainer, founded Elite Fitness Systems 20 years ago as a way to continue to do the sport he loved while pouring into others and encouraging them to do the same. Elite is also a high-end gym equipment outfitter, which, ultimately, funds the unmeasurable amount of free content they give to those who have ears to listen.
Bill Cakmis is just about the only person doing what he does in the country. He works with top-tier talent from new anchors to celebrities to athletes to make them better for their job. That may sound vague, and that would be because what he does is rather abstract.
Kyle Saylors is a Texan-born, self-proclaimed “shy Kid” and a highly-successful film director and producer, working with the likes of Master P, The Dallas Cowboys, Steve Wonder, and many many more.
A.S. “Pete” Peterson is not only a successful author and playwright, but he sits as executive director of The Rabbit Room - an organization he founded with his brother, singer/songwriter and fellow author Andrew Peterson.
Pianist Paul views his work as a calling - and when one is called, going through the difficult circumstances and details isn’t a chore. You’re led by the purpose of the life to which you’ve been called.
While a junior in college, Kaitlyn Kirby was given a typical class assignment that led to the birth of an idea. Mere months later, Kaitlyn was on a flight in the early morning hours to Los Angeles for a cover shoot, and back in her bed in Wisconsin by 10:00pm. That whirlwind trip kicked off the rest of her career, and with covers featuring Courtney Kardashian, Tia and Tamera Mowry, Haylie Duff, Tiffani Thiessen, Mario Lopez AND MORE - Katitlyn’s budding idea gave way to a remarkable career of extraordinary measures.
Justin Sievert could be considered a “rogue lawyer.” The firm that he owns with his business partner launched 2 years ago, and essentially functions as a startup. The practice works with small to medium-sized businesses with an emphasis in sports and fitness fields. In this conversation, we talk about setting priorities, how to balance parenting with a career, and embracing failure without embarrassment.
Chances are high you follow a little dog named Doug. And he’s a Pug. He’s Doug the Pug. Doug’s mom is also named Leslie, and she invited me to her home in Nashville (and Doug actually greeted me at the door) to talk about her journey. From happenstance to insecurities, and from lucky breaks to hard work, we touched on it all. I learned a lot from Leslie Mosier, and you will too.
Lance is a dog sled musher and leads a team of 16 dogs through Alaskan Wilderness for miles and miles and days and days. But in addition to that, and maybe even more importantly - Lance is a throat cancer survivor, and ex-addict who spent most of his life running from what, it seems, he was born to do.
The Rogue Ones Podcast hits the gym: Best known for his 5/3/1 program, Jim Wendler is an ICON in the world of strength training and powerlifting.
Brandon is based in Nashville and is a drummer for major artists like Andrew Peterson and Audrey Assad, and tour manager for artists like Fernando Ortega and Keith and Kristyn Getty.
Yisrael Wright is a men's grooming specialist based in Atlanta and along with providing the best service for his guests, he strives to educate fellow entrepreneur and barbers in good business practices.
In the midst of building a successful acting career, Monica Padman is the cohost and producer of Dax Shepherd's Armchair Expert podcast, and bolsters the work of Kristen Bell in the form of writing and creative partnership.
While Allan is a musician, he has found himself a home in the Finance Industry and is LOVING it. In fact, he's said he feels more creative in his current role than he ever did when he worked on Music Row in a fancy corner office with floor to ceiling windows.
Abi is a vocalist in Nashville with skills in a great many areas, one of which is jazz. Abi has had a long journey with music in her short years, and we touch on the trouble and circumstances of this creative venture - especially in a world like jazz music.
Michael grew up outside of the United States and used that experience to inform what he studied in school, and now what he does for a career. He gets to travel the world taking GORGEOUS photos, and he gets paid.
Michael Schwalbe is one of the most fascinating people you will ever meet. This is a FACT. He's a tall guy (I call him slenderman, he calls me stump), and it's a goal of his to be sure no one leaves his presence thinking, "Boy, really wish I knew what that Schwalbe guy thinks about things."
Jordyn Shellhart has had her share of successes and "failures" (though, we all know that failure isn't a word that's beneficial most of the time). Multiple cuts on big records (Kelsey Ballerini ring any bells?) and a Sony record deal are Jordyn's shiny, glimmering, "successes" but if we only focused on those moments we would fail to see a much more beautiful picture of success that can't be measured by record sales or radio plays.
Exploring the successes and failures of extraordinary rogues is what this Podcast is all about. Episode 1 invites you into the world of the Rogue Ones as I break down why a podcast, and what kinds of things we'll be exploring on this journey. Also in this blog: The origins of the podcast!