Om Travelers

When I started exploring the possibilities of making small batches of chocolate, I thought I was onto something. I had not heard of the world of bean to bar or craft or artisan chocolate. I was soon to realize that there had been a bean to bar industry long before me and I soon learned to truly appreciate the craft that the pioneers before me created. The bean to bar chocolate world at its root is created to make lives better- here at home, at the place of origin and for all the places in between. I had the opportunity to do an apprenticeship with Mackenzie Rivers from Map Chocolate and now the Next Batch School in the summer of 2018. I had been on a quest to search deeper into my soul and figure out what the next chapter of my life was going to mean. 5 years later I am still very much trying to figure that out but the two weeks I spent with Mackenzie in Eugene Oregon were 2 of the most transformative of my adult life. During the weekdays we worked hard together. She graciously answered my zillions

I will be the first to admit I am a sucker for a good lifestyle brand. You give me some dreams, some great photos and a cool Instagram account and I’ll be pulled in. The cherry on top is when the lifestyle has been lived by the visionary and whatever they are selling kicks ass.Mike Johansen was basically born on a beach. He spent time growing up on Nantucket and went to college in California. On top of all of that, he has a golden retriever and a yellow jeep sweatshirt that perfectly matches my Wrangler. So, yes, I am now hooked on living the Tuck Life.It’s Jeep days and powder days,dawn patrols and swimming holes.From Mountain tops to surf spots,if you dream about it, odds are we do too. If that mission statement doesn’t say it then I do not know what else does. On top of making me daydream, I am also always fascinated by people who start their own brands. As I have learned through the development of Nostalgia Chocolates, creating a brand, not to mention a lifestyle, is extremely difficult.Mike is very

Often, the biggest champions of an area are the ones who grew up there. It is not typically the case that someone who has lived all over the world makes a career out of trying to boost the success of a small city and change the way it is viewed by people on the outside looking in.Laura Thorn is a champion of all. As I learned more about her story, she has a made a life based around helping others. Most recently Laura has teamed up with Aldea Gerard to create the pilot episodes of Off the Wall and Up Close- an arts, culture, and travel show.The show is starting here in Syracuse but has plans to highlight the scenes on cities just like Syracuse across the country. I had no idea what a massive undertaking it is to create a new TV show. After many rounds of fundraising, they created an initial episode and presented it at the Seattle Film Festival.Laura and Aldea teamed up with Willow Rock Brewing in the fall of 2022 and that is how we met. Laura is an inspiration with her drive and determination to help others an

Yes, this episode starts off with another Costa Rica connection. While sitting around the breakfast table at Blue Spirit in Nosara Costa Rica one morning on a retreat in December of 2021 my friend Tom turned to me and quietly said“Hey, you know Leslie?”“Yes” I replied“Did you know she was an X Games snowboard athlete and had videos of her snowboarding on the internet?”“No way man. Little Leslie?”“Yeah dude, for sure.”Leslie Glenn may not be 6 feet tall but she is a vibrant and incredible human to be around. Her smile is infectious, her warmth and kindness are felt by everyone around her without her saying a word and she is a person who seeks to surround herself with people that provide good energy and strive for a beautiful life for themselves and for the world around them.It is always amazing to me what we do not know about people just by looking at their cover. She began her snowy life on ski’s but transitioned to snowboarding to learn something new. While in college at University of Vermont, she took a yog

We often measure our happiness based on events that happen to us. Vacation, birthdays, our animals, sunny days and so on. We are on a high while surfing or swimming in the ocean or skiing down a giant mountain but then when we return to life we hit a wall and yearn for the next time we can escape. It is easy to pay for experiences that provide us happiness. What we rarely think about is how our health can affect our day-to-day wellbeing.In full disclosure, I am absolutely not the definition of good eating habits but since I met my wife 10 years ago, I have been trying little by little to clean my act up.When Tiffany and I met she was in a good place with her health. Over the course of ten years, she has found herself in some very challenging places where most of us would have thrown our hands up and just said whatever and given up. She has battled, she has researched, she has been sick, then healthy, she has had all sorts of random symptoms manifest over time and after all of this she has inspired so many of

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Sometimes you just happen to be in the right place and eaves dropping at the right time and you end up meeting an awesome human being.While in a coffee shop in Stonington Maine in the summer of 2021, I was standing behind Walker and heard another gentleman ask him how his tours had been going. When their conversation ended, I of course inquired about the tours because, well who doesn’t love a good tour!As it turns out, Walker had recently purchased an old lobster boat and was running tours around the area of Stonington. I of course love being out on the water so the next day we drove back and met him for a couple hour or so boat ride. We learned about his childhood growing up in the area, some of the history of the local islands, saw a couple dolphins and just generally had an amazing time with him.Walker headed back to the west coast and Hawaii for the winter and is slowly making his way back east for another summer season. He is a poet, a tour guide, a tea expert, a musician and if you were to judge someone

We spend a lot of our lives thinking about what has happened in the past and what we plan to have happen, or worry will happen in the future. I find myself caught in this spiral frequently. As a yogi and a yoga instructor I try hard to be patient with my thoughts and understand the patterns that develop from my past and ultimately influence my present and my future. In yoga, these thought blocks are commonly called Samskaras.I first found out about Teddy Droseros in 2018. Teddy has created an unbelievable project to help adults and children have an outlet to express what they are grateful for in the present. In 2018 Teddy along with a few local business A’Pizza Regionale, Original Grain and O Yoga (now Sky Yoga Studios) came up with an idea to raise money through various promotions to donate gratitude journals to all the students at a local elementary school here in Syracuse. I would encourage you to go back and listen to episode 12 with the principal of that school LaJuan White to hear more about the ultimat

I met David through my mentor and great friend Mackenzie Rivers of Map Chocolate. David has his own podcast called Bean to Barstool and it is all about craft beer and craft chocolate. These are truly two of my favorite things in the world.I love to daydream. Listening to Davis podcasts bring the same type of inspiration I try to put into my chocolate bars. I want people to take some time, slow down and let their mind travel to the places where the cacao is grown. When I listen to David speak of hops, malt, barley and yeast my senses get filled with the smells of the brewery or the first smell of a beer when you open the can or the bottle. I often try to picture the setting of the brewery or the chocolate shop and imagine what it is like.I have listened to all of David’s podcasts, and I am entertained with each episode. More than being entertained, I learn something new each time. David is an Advanced Cicerone which is the beer equivalent of a sommelier. I love learning from people who are willing to share the

“Osito exists to champion coffees of the single growers and grower associations throughout all of Colombia. They work to cultivate long standing relationships between roasters and farmers all built on a basis of fair pricing and unparalleled quality.”I have been following Osito Coffee for a while on social media when one day I stumbled across a post announcing that they were about to import their first ever work with cacao from Colombia. I just had a feeling there was something about this cacao that was special and had a story to be. I quickly reached out to Kyle and just as quickly had a reply back. They asked how much I wanted for a sample as this was their first foray into chocolate. A few days later it arrived on my doorstep.The absolute most important thing for me when thinking about a new origin is the relationship I will have with the importer and equally as important is their relationship with the farmers where the cacao is grown. I have seen the efforts they put in to helping their coffee producers,

On this episode we talk to Eric Sharvelle from Buena Nota Imports. They specialize in promoting and importing high quality cacao from one of my favorite places on earth, Costa Rica. The Hacienda Azul cocoa beans were the very first ones I ever roasted and toiled with. I spent countless hours screwing up tempering in my early months of making chocolate. Even still, there was beauty in the bars. The flavor is very chocolate forward with some honey and light red fruit notes at the end. For most people, this chocolate is extremely comforting and relatable. Today we talk about Costa Rica, the origin of these beans and also what brought Eric into cacao. Grab some chocolate and enjoy this weeks episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are back!!! Episode 15 brings our first repeat guest. My very good friend Joe Altier AKA Just Joe. It has been 15+ years since we first met and it is safe to say a lot has changed in both of our lives.Entertainer, athlete, inspiration and father- Joe brings a lot of love and light into the worlds of the people he touches. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The show is back with guests literally from around the world. Not only will we continue to dive deep into the lives of inspiring people, but this season we will also be taking a closer look at the people who work to make our world run. From farmers to restaurant owners to people in healthcare and nutrition. Hit subscribe and get ready for the return of Om Travelers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I’ve been strangely flooded with random images of Sicily as we come up on the 1-year anniversary of our trip there. I’ve been seeing vivid images of different vistas, ocean scenes, people and I’ve actually been getting some of the tastes showing up in my mouth. I’ve never had this happen to me before. I’m not exactly sure why it’s happening but as I have been thinking about the trip it has left me with a huge desire to travel again. We do have some upcoming trips – back to Costa Rica in December and then we will be leading 2 yoga retreats in Lucca Italy next year- but planning a trip to a completely new place is exhilarating. When we left Sicily, we both said that we had spent enough time there and were satisfied but a part of me feels a need to go back. Anyway, I say all of this because the episode today features Madeline Jhawar. She started a company called Italy Beyond the Obvious and helps people plan their trip to Italy. I’m not 100% of the exact events as to how we found her but she was a majo

This episode is a little longer than some of the others but every minute is worth it. John Timmerman and Lyndsay Dillon started a blue jean company based on the shapes of fit bodies. As someone who goes to CrossFit classes 6-7 days a week, I can speak to the struggle to find pants in general but more so jeans that fit the right way. Well folks, this problem has been solved. 2 people with no background in the clothing industry aside from wearing clothes started this awesome company. From design, to R&D to doing the distressing live in front of their customers, these two bust their butts. It’s a really great story what brought them together to what they have created with this business. They both work other full time jobs so their extra minutes are spent ordering material, fulfilling clients orders and getting their apparel packaged and ready to ship.Find them @jaxonjovie and www.jjforthepeople.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The first episode of what is now season 2 of Om Travelers is with the awesome LaJuan White. LaJuan is the principal of Lincoln Middle School in Syracuse. She is also a licensed funeral director and awesome person. She is a native of Brooklyn and made her way to Syracuse, NY a few years ago and instantly starting changing the lives of her students and the greater community. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When I was in my twenties my mind was not focused on creating my own business. Looking back, I wish it had been but that's what hindsight does to you. Dan was chasing a dream of playing professional hockey when one day he realized that wasn't what he wanted. Through conversations with his friends, some supportive, many not, he decided that hats a t-shirts were where his future was. He has created a lifestyle brand that aligns with his idea of a life well lived. Check him out at www.seaculturebrand.com, on Instagram @seaculturebrand and Facebook.com/seaculturebrand. The company was formerly know as Leeway Clothing but that has recently changed and been rebranded. Its an impressive story that I hope you enjoy as much as I did. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There are not many people that I have met in my life with a spirit and personality as big as Ashley Cox. She always greats you with a smile and genuinely cares about how you are doing. If you saw her every day, I am pretty sure you would never know when she was having a bad one. We sat down at Roji Tea Lounge in Syracuse and she shared her passion for music, her daughter and a career path that has always involved performing at some level. Check her out on Instagram @ashleycoxmusic and @professionalvictims. Her website is www.professionalvictims.com. Make sure to check them out at a show near you. Enjoy Ashleys story and as always make sure to give us a review on iTunes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ed's life, like many of ours, was often relatively unhealthy through out his younger years. He was a high level baseball player through out his teens and college years and attended college on a baseball scholarship. After one too many injuries, he left his bat and ball on the field and returned home to Pompey NY where is began working for his fathers construction company. After years of eating poorly and drinking too frequently Ed decided it was time for a change. He and his now wife gathered their belongings and headed down south. Ed started walking, then running, then riding. With each step out the door his distances became longer and his desire to not only help himself but also those around become healthier increased. Today Ed's job is to make people fit and live a healthy happy life. His business, Ultimate Health and Performance is transforming peoples lives. Enjoy his story and to find out more visit www.ultimate-health.net. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Aliza and Derek come from pretty different backgrounds. Alize was born, raised and settled in Syracuse, NY. Derek is a native Brooklynite who has had various jobs all over the country. One common theme throughout their lives was their interest in technology and the way that ever changing world impacts everyone's daily lives. Throughout the course of their careers they have both seen the impact that the work environment can have on a persons happiness across all aspects of their world. Together they started Spark Orange in an effort to bridge the technology gap and also create a really cool place for their employees to come and work. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.