In this episode, drug policy researcher Alan Cassels and I take a deep look into some less than desirable tactics of the pharmaceutical and health care industries. Alan has been investigating and reporting on nefarious industry strategies for more than 2 decades, and his books Selling Sickness and Seeking Sickness expose the dirty underbelly that some corporations and leaders would rather you did not know about.

Michael Schiesser has been a powerful force in my life, helping me to grow in ways where I was not looking for growth. This in part is due to the curriculum he has created through the Inner Journey Institute that operates trainings in both the USA and Canada, and to his passion for serving others on their journeys.

Joan Morris is an elder of the Songhees Nation of the Lekwungen People on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. As with many of her people, she has suffered greatly in the name of colonialization, and now she advocates for survivors of the draconian system that included residential schools and Indian hospitals.

My guest in this episode is crazy, and that is just one of his many strengths. Bruce Kirkby does not take life sitting down, unless he is exploring remote coasts and waterways in a canoe or kayak. His idea of a hike is not a loop in a nearby forest but instead a trek across jungles and deserts and entire landmasses. He plans 6-month rustic, transcontinental excursions with less stress than most people plan a plush weekend getaway.

It is always a pleasure connecting with Janne Robinson, a personal development coach, writer, surfer, mentor, and much more. This is Janne’s second time on Salish Wolf, and in her raw, vulnerable style, she again delivers a powerful message of truth and connection. Janne takes us inside her mega project of the year, a yearlong immersive program called “Your Truth is Your Medicine”, which is comprised of her life’s learnings and includes more than 20 Teachers of Truth who have served as Janne’s mentors, teachers, and inspirations.

I first heard Wil’s music around 2003 in a nightclub in Victoria, BC. With that show, I became an instant fan of this crazy bearded man who could make more noise with a guitar than anyone I had ever encountered before. With crazy guitar riffs, guitar drumming, his trademark broken strings, and his mesmerizing voice, Wil became my live act of choice. Over the years I have seen him up and down Vancouver Island in pubs, jazz clubs, theatres, parks, and even in a living room. Wil delivered in every single show.

Joshua Hathaway is a profound communicator with the capacity to change lives – to change your life. He changes mine with every conversation, as each shows me subtle or significant shifts that I can make to better show up in this world. Joshua is a leader among men, with 20 years of experience in men’s work. With his extensive background in nonviolent communication and Master’s degree in Somatic and Transpersonal Psychotherapy, he helps men dismantle their bullshit and claim radical responsibility and sovereignty. Basically, he helps us be the best men we can be – no BS.

My guest in this episode, Ray Zahab, is such an accomplished explorer and ultra distance runner that just listing the bulleted highlights of his accomplishments would fill an entire podcast. He has won numerous awards and honours, was featured in the documentary film “Running the Sahara” produced by Matt Damon, and risks his life each time he goes out on an expedition. But Ray does not set out on seemingly impossible journeys for accolades or social media likes. Instead, he does it to inspire others. In 2008 Ray founded the organization impossible2Possible (i2P) that aims to inspire and educate youth through adventure learning, inclusion, and participation in expeditions.

I first met Christa Black Gifford and her husband Luke at a fearless intimacy workshop in Colorado only a few weeks after they resurrected their marriage. It was also around this time when they led their first marriage intensive to much approbation from attendees. This is one of Christa’s many gifts to the world: turning her weaknesses and pain into strengths and offerings. Christa now leads several hundred women in her online teaching (currently iteration known as The Woman’s Circle), and many more in her in-person workshops.

Jen Segger has traveled the globe competing as a world-class adventure racing athlete. She has, for year after year, for nearly 2 decades, pushed her body to the extremes of what the human body is capable of enduring. And now, on the brink of 40, she is showing little sign of slowing down or becoming sedentary. I interviewed her in my recording studio shortly after she and Norm paddled 250 km in 6 days from near their home north of Vancouver to my hometown of Victoria.

Luke is a dear friend who has come into my life to be a confidante and guide. In this episode he guides me through his excruciating experience of losing his first daughter and then losing what had been his only construct of God. His life fell apart, piece by piece, to the point that his loved ones worried that he might not make it through. But in the darkest hour, Luke managed to find the willpower and spirit to gather and rebuild. Through a position of radical responsibility, he took control of his life and found new love and commitment for his wife.

Occasionally a person enters my life who I know almost instantly is going to have a profound impact on my personal journey. My guest in this episode, Luke Gifford, is one of those people. From our ‘non-chance’ encounter almost 2 years ago at a personal growth event, we immediately began a relationship of mutual support and challenge in which we settle for nothing but the best that each of us has to give. I firmly believe that every man would benefit by having a Luke-type friend to nudge, or bludgeon, him back on the track of integrity when circumstances derail him.

My guest in this episode, Pacific Rim College faculty member and herbalist Peter Conway, is freakishly intelligent and deeply committed to his purpose. He has lived in a van and a teepee, has fought for the preservation and dissemination of herbal medicine knowledge, and generally follows in life a punk rocker ethos. Listening to him talk about plant-spirit medicine is like listening to a living mystic – I actually think Peter is a living mystic – and his knowledge extends vastly beyond the bounds of herbal medicine. We touch base with myriad topics including chaos theory, inner reflection during Covid, punk rock, spirituality, and nature.

In this episode, Cory and I peel back the layers of his knowledge of martial arts: from Karate and Jujitsu to Muay Thai and Japanese archery. We talk about his persistent drive to perfect his craft, and how that drive led him to give up a lucrative job in pursuit of his heart’s yearning. Cory also shares many of the life lessons that he has gleaned from his teachers and martial arts and how he carries forward in his dojo the legacy of the respectful, holistic martial artists.

If you take only one thing from this episode, hopefully it is powerful enough to keep you moving forward, even when it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. My guest in this episode, Zat Baraka, has carried that weight, even through the most painful times when he had considered giving up. It was through that pain that he discovered his own inner strength and greatness. He also discovered that, as people, we never really put down the weight. We just grow stronger and better equipped mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to turn the burden into opportunity. Our greatest gifts, says Zat, come from our deepest wounds.

Fritzi Horstman is a rare, beautiful individual with a selfless passion to transform lives. As a Grammy-award winning producer for her work on the “The Defiant Ones”, Fritzi is not resting on her laurels. Nor is she coasting through Hollywood, lapping up the limelight. Instead, she is focusing on spending as much time as possible in prison, supporting incarcerated men and women. Fritzi believes wholeheartedly in an urgency to bring humanity and compassion to prisoners to transform their lives and ultimately society.

Janne is a 21st-century feminist beat poet, a personal development coach, a surfer, a beacon of inspiration, and so much more. With her raw, unabashed style, Janne takes us on a journey of her pursuit of personal truth. This journey weaves through recalcitrant body shame, the lightness and heaviness of impacting legions of women, and her passion for empowering others.

Have you ever been overwhelmed by seemingly insurmountable hardship? My guest on this episode could have been the poster child for falling in the face of adversity. He could have checked out figuratively and literally countless times. The odds were certainly stacked against him. But he didn’t stay down or give up. Instead, he rose and continues to rise – not despite each challenge, but because of each challenge – and he has become a role model for anyone fortunate enough to hear his story or to be in his presence.

Have you ever met someone who earned your respect and devotion within seconds? For me, Paul Underhill is one of these people. I have actually known Paul for about a decade, but this interview is only the second time I have had a conversation with him – the first time having also been in an interview.

For this inaugural episode of Salish Wolf, I sat down with internationally renowned paddleboarder and activist Norm Hann. As Norm shares in this episode, he is always looking to grow as an individual and to impact others. His activism, expeditions, and films in the Great Bear Rainforest demonstrate this so beautifully. Even at 50, Norm continues to win paddleboarding races and to lead global excursions. He is a man with a clear purpose that he follows with the utmost integrity.