Blood Sweat & Careers

Denver-based Kelsey Sanders is a Neuro Physical Therapist who specializes in dizziness by day. She’s also a weekend warrior and micro-influencer who explores the Rocky Mountains with her pup Oliver for @fourpaws.twofeet on Instagram. Her dual roles offer the chance to pursue both passions and impact people both online or IRL (in real life).

Co-hosts Katherine, Mallory and Austin speak with Kelsey about the pressure to perform, the good/bad/ugly of social media, and the power of not falling prey to expectations. She also talks about how to explore in your own backyard and when to know your limits. A great episode for anyone wondering how to balance a passion with a profession.

This week on the pod we speak with Maker Eric Angus.

Eric opened our eyes to the maker universe and showed us how the term is certainly in conversation with multi-hyphenate. Eric makes sustainable skateboards, works with cement (have you ever seen a cement lake?), is on the install team at an art museum AND is starting his own collaborative studio (phew 😅)!

Identifying as a maker has certainly given Eric confidence to move from one hands-on frontier to the next...perhaps the same way your confidence can flourish once you’ve realized the strength being a multi-hyphenate offers.

It’s the professional through line that flows from gig to gig with Eric that so impressed our hosts. Eric not only seeks out work he can do with his hands, but also infuses each pursuit with purpose! Sustainable skateboards so your punk rock actions of “jammin’ with a city” can also be an emblem of the environmentalist movement: he sees skateboards as a tool (through their grinding and slamming) that can help tear down the concrete jungle and invite nature back in... He even sees purpose in his time spent at a ski shop tuning skis (even though he was a professional snowboarder!!)

By the end, we decided that the purpose Eric carries into his work is simultaneously very real and very much just his attitude. Why not listen and you be the judge?!

You can find Eric and what he makes at:
@angus_studio

His skateboards live at:
@anthropocene_skateboards

If ever in Carbondale, CO look him up and visit his collaborative shop! We hear his photography may be hanging on the walls inside...

Lyla Weinstein is a kindergarten / first grade teacher who infuses her life with creativity and passion so that she can bring vibrancy, dimension and joy to the children in her class room. Her professional journey is rooted in teaching, but her wide array of interests also sustain her outside of the classroom.

Passionate about art, Lyla uses oil pastels, knitting and writing to keep her inspired both personally and professionally. A gardening hobby discovered by her neighbors is beginning to blossom into a part-time business. Although she’s been teaching since she was 18, young Lyla dreamed of being a scuba diving instructor.

As it has for so many, the pandemic has forced Lyla to question her professional path. It is possible that the effects of the pandemic have been most acutely felt in our classrooms. Teaching during 2020 (and sigh, 2021) has been a challenge, calling into question so much about the way we educate our young people.

We are grateful to Lyla for coming on the pod to share candidly the difficulties of teaching virtually as well as emanate her positivity. After speaking with Lyla we have decided that teachers are definitely multi-hyphenates and are (newly) big proponents of Zoom dance breaks!

What happens if you feel bad about being a multi-hyphenate? Ditching the dreams of law school Lauren Ford took on a range of positions at Vogue, the state of New York, financial planning and Target. After she decided to not beat herself up about an unexpected career path, Lauren learned how to embrace self care. She also shares how she let go when jobs didn't turn out quite like she expected. Austin, Mallory and Katherine speak with Lauren this week about how to define what success means to you! We can't wait for you to meet Lauren, a new mom, fellow grad student and a good friend of the pod.

What is a multi-hyphenate anyway? We’re exploring how this buzz word jumped ship from Hollywood to apply to today’s multi-passionate entrepreneurs. Join cohosts Austin, Mallory and Katherine who share their wandering career stories, including what led them to start their own businesses, head into the nonprofit world, and how they pivoted when career paths hit a dead end. Whether you’re a sometimes yoga instructor, barista, Lyft driver or child care provider, we explore how multi-hyphenates have become the norm thanks in part to the rise gig economy and what it means to thrive (or not) in the modern workforce. Let’s reclaim the term and find out how to work smarter, not harder. No seriously, how does it work?