Vinnie Soma is a life long dog lover, who started training dogs professionally in 2012, after a few serious injuries derailed his hockey career.

College just wasn’t for him, so he connected with his uncle, who had been training dogs since the 1970’s, and through trial, error, ups, and downs, he created Say it Once Dog Training, the biggest dog training company in Pittsburgh, PA, and has since branched out into Cincinnati, Nashville, and DC.

He started a non-profit, to provide training for rescue dogs, to ensure that they transition smoothly into their new homes, and avoid being returned back to the rescue. His “Say it Once Dog Derby” has raised tens of thousands of dollars towards this effort, and had over 400 participants last year.

Vinnie’s is a great story of perseverance and overcoming many BUT’s on his way to success!

Read more about Vinnie and how to get involved in the Dog Derby, or helping rescue dogs at www.sayitoncedogtraining.com

After getting his Master’s degree and working a few unfullfiling years in the corporate world, Mike Wombacher changed gears, and has been involved with dogs for over forty years. Over thirty of them as a professional trainer. During this time, he has performed around 40,000 private consultations covering the entire spectrum of dog behavior, from the mundane to the bizarre.

Mike is also the author of three other books – There’s a Puppy in the House, Integrated Dog Training, and Good Dog, Happy Baby – and has another book slated for publication – Hey, What’s with the Collar: Inside the War in the World of Dog Training.

Mike has trained dogs for high profile celebrities in the entertainment, financial and academic worlds including Charles Schwab, Robin Williams, Linda Ronstadt, Barry Levinson, Chad Hurley (founder of YouTube), Max Levchin (co-founder of PayPal), Jeremy Stoppelman (founder of Yelp), Dr. Robert Sapolsky (author of many books on animal behavior and neurobiology), Joe Satriani, Bob Weir (Grateful Dead), Linda Ronstadt, Kirk Hammet (Metallica) and Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony,

who commented that "Michael Wombacher is a maestro of dog trainers. His clarity of thinking, sense of humor and skills in communicating make dog training fun for both pet and pet lover."

Mike has a great story of overcoming the doubts of others, and persevering, to overcome his buts, and the buts of others!

(Note that this is part 1, and cuts off at the end, but we plan to get Mike’s partner on a future episode to talk about her time in Iraq, Afghanistan, and how they are now working with PTSD service dogs for veterians.)

From White Gold To White Beaches: How a Wanna be Asparagus farmer ended up running a successful BNB and management company in Aruba.

Meet Rik Maes, Rik was born and raised on a farm in The Netherlands that specialized in White Asparagus (also known as White Gold). Riks story is a story of being at the right time in the right place and meeting the right people and recognizing & seizing opportunities without asking himself the “what if” questions and ignoring the “yes this is an opportunity BUT ……..” remarks from people around him.

His story is the epitome of what happens when you do not plan out your life but just do what sounds right and hope it will all works out.

Find Rik's place at https://stonethrowaruba.com/

Page Skelton is the co-founder of the Cackalacky® Brand – makers of Cackalacky hot sauces, barbecue sauces, snack peanuts, specialty coffees, clothing, and more. ( and our very first sponsor!).

Page attended West Virginia University (1991) where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and, North Carolina Central University (2000) where he earned his master’s degree in Library and Information Science.

Page is an Eagle Scout and father to a teenage son. Page and his wife, Caroline Skelton along with their son, Harry own and operate the Cackalacky Brand together. Prior to creating the Cackalacky Brand in the early 2000’s, Page was a global accounts manager with WorldCom, a telecommunications company.

Cackalacky, Inc. is a family operated company headquartered at 697 Hillsboro Street, Suite 600, Pittsboro, NC with a company store that is open to the public. To learn more, visit BeerBQNuts.com

Corkey Miller has had one WILDLIFE! I mean wildlife like Lions and Tigers OH MY!! From animal wrangler for iconic movies like Ground Hog Day and hundreds of tv commercials, she has seen it all. To top it all off she has a new pursuit in stand up comedy and was recently on America’s Got Talent!!
www.actionanimalsusa.com

Molly Goldston is a native to Wake Forest, NC and has been working in animal sheltering throughout north Carolina since 2001.

After seeing the huge need for more adoption options for both dogs at risk for euthanasia and adopters looking for a new companion to be able to meet shelter dogs, she began Saving Grace. Saving Grace offers a positive adoption experience for adopters where they can visit and mingle with dogs looking for homes in a non-traditional shelter environment. Fully funded by donations, all medical care is provided to the pets prior to adoption. Though building relationships throughout the community and programs for volunteers to change the lives of homeless dogs, Molly and Saving Grace has adopted over 50,000 dogs into loving homes.

Follow on Instagram and Face Book at Molly Goldston

Follow Saving Grace on Instagram, FaceBook and TikTok at Saving Grace NC

The website is savinggracenc.org for more information or to support the organization.

Mike Weingarten, originally from Brooklyn, NY, literally got the shaft 25 years ago and has a story to tell!

While working in Manhattan on evening, Mike FELL FOUR STORIES DOWN AN ELEVATOR SHAFT! Nobody thought he'd make it through the night. He spent 30 days in the ICU, and over 2 months total in the hospital having gone through multiple surgeries.

Mike took the time in his recovery to take a different path in life. "I sort of reinvented myself", he says.

He moved to Boca Raton, FL, and dove deep into personal development, working specifically on improving the way he was thinking, and his thought processes, which he shares with us in detail.

Mike recently completed 1330 straight days of exercise (and is still going).
"More for a mental toughness standpoint, however, I'm now in the best shape of my life, and I've lost over 100 pounds!", he told us. He uses this journey to inspire others every day!

(He also just got my first dog. A rescue, of course!)

We hope you'll find inspiration in Mike's story. I know we did!

Follow Mike on IG at @elev8ormike and on FB @mikeweingarten

Paulo Mendonça is a Swedish funk guitarist songwriter and composer.

Shane became aware of Paulo when one of his songs came on a Spotify mix while he and John were sitting in John’s living room in Delaware one day, and before it was over, Paulo and Shane were talking on Facebook.

Paulo is of Portuguese origin and has released five studio albums, as well as one live album, and is also a multiple award winning song writer. He has participated in the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival and has toured with Tina Turner among others.

Paulo shares his story as well as the highly entertaining highs, and lows, of someone who has been a working musician his whole life, and how he keeps the fire alive!