Eric Gilbert-Williams 
45: Teens & Parents, Mental Health, Drugs, & Healing as a Family Unit // The Story of Aaron Huey Background: Aaron Huey has been working with children, teens, and parents for over 18 years. After ten years directing camps and empowerment programs around the world, Aaron opened Fire Mountain because he wanted to work … Read more
44: Street Artist to Vice-President of Global Design Coca-Cola // The Story of James Sommerville Background: James Sommerville is the Founder of KnownUnknown, the world’s first decentralized design community working with Fortune 100 brands on brand design assignments and NFTs, leveraging their utility token ($KUDOS). From 2013 to 2018, James was the VP Global … Read more
43: Re-Inventing Yourself Through Entrepreneurship // The Story of Bryan Clayton Background: Bryan Clayton is the Co-Founder and CEO of GreenPal, an online marketplace that connects homeowners with local lawn care professionals. GreenPal has been called the “Uber for lawn care” by Entrepreneur magazine and has over 100,000 active users completing thousands of transactions … Read more
42: The Kid With No Chance Who Built A World Class Podcast // The Story of Justin Schenck Background: Justin Schenck is the host of the top-rated podcast the Growth Now Movement and founder of Growth Now, LLC which is a full-service podcast production and coaching company. He has been named a Top 8 … Read more
41: Coming Out as Gay, then Creating a World Class Impact for LGBTQ Communities // The Story of Arthur Woods Background: Arthur Woods is a social entrepreneur and LGBTQ+ leader, working at the intersection of equity, inclusion and technology. He was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and 40 Under 40 by BEQ. He … Read more
40: Sexual Assault Victim To Impact Entrepreneur // The Story of Carlie Rioux Background: Carlie Rioux is the founder of Thea Caye, a social enterprise creating stylish and functional beach bags while making a positive impact in the world by creating jobs for survivors of exploitation, using sustainable materials, using bio-degradable packaging, and working … Read more
39: Undercover to Fully Recovered, Former Police Officer Overcomes Addictions // The Story of Brock Bevell Background: Brock Bevell is a well-regarded family man with 7 children, six daughters and one son. He is a retired Police Officer who was run over on duty and ultimately retired from the injuries. The injuries caused him to … Read more
38: Bench Warmer to Pro Basketball Career, Author of 29 Books & 8,000 Videos // The Story of Dre Baldwin Background: Dre Baldwin turned one year of high school basketball and a Division 3 college ball career into 9 years of pro basketball. In 2005, he began blogging and publishing to a new website called … Read more
37: From Depression to Passion, Winning a Film Festival, & 1.4 Million Followers // The Story of Zac Stracener Background: Zac Stracener is a popular social media personality who gained his popularity for his videos with the theme of mental illness and anxiety. His TikTok account, Zac.Stracener, has over 1.4 million followers. One of his … Read more
36: Chronic Heart Conditions to Developing the Worlds First AI Powered Health Care // The Story of Marie Johnson Background: Marie Johnson is the co-creator of Nadia, the first AI digital human for service delivery and the creator of the AI digital human cardiac coach. She is a writer, commentator and international speaker on artificial … Read more
35: WW2 Child Survivor, Billion Dollar Tech Mogul, & Inspired Philanthropist // The Story of Dame Stephanie Shirley Background: Dame Stephanie Shirley CH is a successful IT entrepreneur turned ardent philanthropist. Having arrived in Britain as an unaccompanied child refugee in 1939, she started what became Xansa plc (now part of the Sopra Group) on … Read more
34: Leading a City out of Rock Bottom, Building Calgary 2.0 Background: Zane Novak is our very first returning guest and we are so glad to have him back on our show. If you haven’t listened to his story yet, please check out his interview – Episode 12: Double Family Tragedy To CEO & Political … Read more
33: $2 Billion in Sales while Persisting through Tragedy & Towards Positive Change // The Story of Jas Takhar Background: Toronto native, Jas Takhar, has been in the sales and service industry for over 25 years. Soon after deciding to try his hand in real estate, he co-founded the REC, and in the course of … Read more
32: World Dance Champion & Sexual Assault Survivor // The Story of Anya Katsevman Background: Anya Katsevman is an acclaimed award-winning dancer and performer with over 20 titles in the International Latin circuit. Her many international performance credits include tours with well known shows such as Burn the Floor and Dancing With the Stars. Together … Read more
31: Ugandan Musician to Black Entrepreneurship in the USA // The Story of Muyinza Kasirye Background: Muyinza Kasirye is a highly experienced artist, songwriter, producer, and videographer. He is the founder of APRT Media, which is a digital marketing agency that helps customers thrive in today’s digital environment. This company is composed of all black … Read more
30: NHL Hall of Famer & Child Sex Abuse Survivor // The Story of Sheldon Kennedy Background: Sheldon Kennedy won a Memorial Cup, World Junior Gold Medal and skated for three teams in his eight-year NHL career. He is best known for his courageous decision to charge his Major Junior Hockey league coach with … Read more
29: 12 years Working with Human Trafficking Survivors // The Story of Jessica Minhas Background: Jessica Minhas is a human rights advocate, author, social entrepreneur, and media commentator who makes complex human rights issues relevant, understandable and actionable for audiences of all ages. For the past 12 years, Jessica has worked in media, carefully … Read more
28: Extreme Alcoholic to Sober Forever // The Story of Susan Laurie Background: Susan Laurie is the author of From Rock Bottom To Sober Forever, which is the story of how a hopeless alcoholic, resigned to an early death, found complete freedom from her addiction. This book is her story of conquering alcoholism forever, … Read more
27: Severe Depression Survivor to TV Star & Professional Comedian // The Story of Jessica Holmes Background: Jessica Holmes has opened for comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, Leslie Nielsen, and Ellen DeGeneres, as well as hosted events for such visionaries as Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, and Oprah Winfrey! Although a comedian at heart, having performed … Read more
26: Humble Beginnings & Racism Crime Victim to Hollywood Star // The Story of Tommy Chong Background: Grammy Award winning comedian Tommy Chong is legendary for his invaluable contribution to American counter-culture as part of the iconic comedy duo Cheech & Chong. During their reign, the twosome recorded six gold comedy albums, including the … Read more
25: Suicide Attempt Survivor to Comedy Star & Meditation Teacher // The Story of Sarah Taylor Background: Sarah Taylor is an award-winning actor, writer, and standup comedian based in Los Angeles. She has worked as a meditation teacher, energy healing practitioner, and awakening guide for nearly fifteen years and has helped people find their authentic … Read more
24: Frauded $100,000 to Catching his Thief & Serving Justice // The Story of Johnathan Walton Background: Johnathan Walton is a driven and enterprising vigilante who has dedicated his life to hunting down con artists and bringing them to justice. Johnathan is a reality TV producer. He has worked on shows like American Ninja … Read more
23: Pilot & Veteran, to Paraplegic, to a Second Chance with Life // The Story of Jim Ryan Background: On March 30th, 2016, Jim Ryan had a terrible accident while on vacation in Maui, Hawaii. He suffered a spinal cord injury that left him a C-4 complete quadriplegic. His life changed forever in the … Read more
22: War Veteran & Amputee Cancer Survivor to Javelin Athlete & Author // The Story of Brandi Benson Background: At the age of 24, Brandi Benson bravely served her country by enlisting as an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army. She deployed to Iraq in 2008, but her military career was cut short due … Read more
21: Crash Amputee to 12 Time World Record Holder // The Story of Amy Palmiero-Winters Background: Amy Palmiero-Winters is a professional athlete, career-woman, mother and the founder of the One Step Ahead Foundation. After losing her left leg below the knee due to a motorcycle accident that occurred in 1994, Amy compiled a tremendous … Read more
20: Near-Death Drug Addiction to Winning the Courage to Come Back Award and Founding Camp Kerry // The Story of Josh Dahling Background: Josh Dahling arrived in Canada from apartheid South Africa when he was still very young. He survived physical and sexual abuse while navigating the daily struggles of poverty and undiagnosed dyslexia. … Read more
19: Family Tragedy to Latin Radio Star & TV Announcer // The Story of Alberto Sardiñas Background: “So what’s your story and what did you learn from it?” is Alberto Sardiñas’ most important question to people everywhere he goes. Alberto is the host of “Íntimo”, a leading syndicated radio show in the U.S. Hispanic market … Read more
18: $20 Million Business Bankruptcy to Passionate Happy Lifestyle // The Story of Bernard Callebaut Background: Bernard Callebaut is a renowned Master Chocolatier, with four generations of experience behind him. Focused always on the balance of taste and style, fellow chocolatiers, chefs and gastronomes around the world revere him. Having brought worldwide recognition to … Read more
17: Coma Inducing Car Crash with a 5% Chance of Recovery to Happy Loving Family // The Story of Harriet Ronaghan Background: A devastating car crash left 18-year-old Harriet Ronaghan with a traumatic brain injury. Given just a 5% chance to live, this vibrant young ballerina survived surgery but remained in a coma for … Read more
16: Witnessing a Murderous Fire to Helping 38,000 People by Building 49 Interfaith, Caste-Free Homes // The Story of Sister Lucy Kurien Background: Sister Lucy Kurien is the Founder and Director of Maher, a community and interfaith organization for abused and destitute women and children, headquartered in Pune, India. Maher in the Marathi language … Read more
15: Double Suicide Attempt Survivor & Pro Golfer in Canada to Mental Health Ambassador // The Story of Andrew Jensen Background: Andrew Jensen is a professional golfer and mental health Bell Let’s Talk Ambassador. In his teens, Andrew began to suffer with depression, culminating in a suicide attempt at 16 years old. In those … Read more
14: Golden Gate Bridge Jump Survivor Helps Thousands Heal from Racial Hate Crimes & Black Lives Matter (BLM) // The Story of Kevin Hines Background: Kevin Hines is a best-selling author, global public speaker, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. In the Year 2000, Kevin attempted to take his life by jumping off the Golden Gate … Read more
13: Cancer Survivor and Multiple Olympic Gold Medalist // The Story of Shannon Miller Background: Seven-time Olympic Medalist, Shannon Miller is the only female athlete to be inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame – Twice! [Individual (2006) and Team (2008)]. Shannon has won an astounding 59 International and 49 National competition medals. … Read more
12: Double Family Tragedy to CEO & Political Influencer // The Story of Zane Novak Background: Zane Novak, from Calgary Alberta, Canada, is the President of the Kerby Centre, a charitable organization that has a mission to assist older people to live as well as possible, for as long as possible, as residents in … Read more
11: A Burn Survivor’s Journey to Discover True Beauty // The Story of Kelly Falardeau Background: At the age of 2, Kelly Falardeau was severely burned over 75% of her body in her childhood home. Her life was forever changed in that moment. It led to numerous surgeries throughout her life. Because her scars … Read more
10: From Biker Gangs & Drug Addiction to helping Kids Heal & Grow // The Story of Joe Calendino Background: Drugs, gangs, and violence represent the dark side of society and have taken many young lives on a destructive path. Back in the early 80’s one of those lives was Joe Calendino. Drug use … Read more
09: Surviving a Near Death Stabbing to Building a $20 Million Dollar Business // The Story of Gigi Stetler Background: Gigi Stetler is an entrepreneur, life coach, CEO, author, designer, equestrian, mother, and survivor. She has made a very successful career in the RV industry. Her decades in the business of buying, selling and … Read more
08: The World’s First Armless Pilot… & How She Obtained her Pilot’s License… with her Feet? // The Story of Jessica Cox Background: Jessica Cox is best known for becoming the first armless pilot in aviation history. Her achievement earned her a Guinness World Record medal, invitations from six continents, and featured on tv … Read more
07: University Dropout to NASA Project Leader // The Story of Dr. Erika Hamden Background: Dr. Erika Hamden is a professor of astrophysics at the University of Arizona. Her observational focus is on measuring and mapping diffuse hydrogen around galaxies and within star forming regions in our own galaxy. Her current projects include FIREBall, … Read more
06: OCD & Suicide Survivor to NHL and Mental Health Ambassador // The Story of Clint Malarchuk Background: Clint Malarchuk, who was born in Grand Prairie, Alberta, played junior hockey in the Western Hockey League. He went on to play professionally in the NHL for the Quebec Nordiques, the Washington Capitals, and the Buffalo … Read more
05: From Living on the Streets to Champion Rally Racer // The Story of Penny Mallory Background: Motorsport and TV fans know her as the first (and remains the only) woman to compete in a World Rally Car. Penny Mallory knows how to compete and beat the odds, but she also knows top performance requires … Read more
04: High-School Dropout goes from Living on Porches to Building an LA Fashion Business // The Story of Magnus Walker Background: Magnus Walker, nicknamed the Urban Outlaw, is a British custom car builder, fashion designer and car collector. After emigrating to the United States in 1986, he established the Serious Clothing Brand, which was worn … Read more
03: How a 17-Year Old Child-Bride Escaped Abuse & Rose to a Best Selling Author // The Story of Samra Zafar Background: Samra Zafar is an award-winning international speaker, bestselling author, consultant, educator, and social entrepreneur who advocates for equity, inclusion, and human rights. Her book, A Good Wife: Escaping the Life I Never Chose, … Read more
02: Heroin Addict goes from Homeless to CEO // The Story of Joe Roberts Background: Joe Roberts is an inspirational example of overcoming adversity and managing change. In 1989, he was living under a bridge, homeless on skid row. Today he is an advocate, author and the Executive Director of The Push for Change. … Read more
01: Rock Bottom To Rockin’ It // Launch Episode Background: In this Kick Off Episode you’ll get a preview of what’s in store for future weeks of From Rock Bottom to Rockin’ It… Hope you enjoy! Feedback? Questions? Comments? I would love to hear from you! Contact me at us via: Email (eric@ericgilbertwilliams.com), LinkedIn (@ericgilbertwilliams), Twitter … Read more
