We’re talking to inspiring and motivating alumni who have found success in life and podcasting. This episode features some famous RTA podcasters: Taylor Lindsay Noel (Tea Time with Tay/Cup of Te Luxury Loose Leaf Teas), Kyle Moore (Life’s a Wreck), and Elena Hudgins Lyle (CBC’s Inappropriate Questions). Take a listen to the first episodes of their podcasts, the inspirational stories behind their work and their encouraging tips and advice for those beginning their audio journeys or just surviving life in general!
Produced by the RTA School of Media at X University
To read the complete show notes click here
Visit our website to view the transcription or access hyperlinks in this description: https://bounced.buzzsprout.com/
Timestamps
9:32 Tea Time with Tay Feature
20:23 Inappropriate Questions Feature
28:22 Life’s a Wreck Feature
36:01 Interview: Recording first episodes
45:50 Interview: Podcasting outside of RTA
1:07:21 Interview: Balancing life and career, and advice for students
Featured Projects:
Tea Time with Tay: Ep. 1 Let Me Introduce Myself - Taylor Lindsay Noel (RTA 996)
Listen to the full episode here
Inappropriate Questions: What are you? - Elena Hudgins Lyle, Cindy Long and Sabrina Bertsch (RTA 503/Transmedia Zone)
Listen to the full episode here
Life’s a Wreck: Episode 1 - Kyle Moore (RTA 996)
Listen to the full episode here
Listen to some of their most recent episodes:
Tea Time with Tay: Ep. 28 - Shopping Black feat. Kerin John
Inappropriate Questions: Can I ask a sex worker “What was your worst experience?”
Life’s a Wreck: S4E15: A Rising Sun and Indigenous Trauma - A Finale ft. Cheyenne Joseph
Credits
Podcast Producer and Host: Sam McNulty
Project Supervisor: Lori Beckstead
Artwork: Yvette Sin
Sound Design (Trailer, Opening and Sweepers): Anita Porgozelska
Opening and Closing Music: PHAS3.EXE by Drake Sanderson
Show Notes and Transcription: Yixin (Cherry) Yang
We’re talking to inspiring and motivating alumni who have found success in life and podcasting. This episode features some famous RTA podcasters: Taylor Lindsay Noel (Tea Time with Tay/Cup of Te Luxury Loose Leaf Teas), Kyle Moore (Life’s a Wreck), and Elena Hudgins Lyle (CBC’s Inappropriate Questions). Take a listen to the first episodes of their podcasts, the inspirational stories behind their work and their encouraging tips and advice for those beginning their audio journeys or just surviving life in general!
Produced by the RTA School of Media at X University
To read the complete show notes click here
Visit our website to view the transcription or access hyperlinks in this description: https://bounced.buzzsprout.com/
Timestamps
9:32 Tea Time with Tay Feature
20:23 Inappropriate Questions Feature
28:22 Life’s a Wreck Feature
36:01 Interview: Recording first episodes
45:50 Interview: Podcasting outside of RTA
1:07:21 Interview: Balancing life and career, and advice for students
Featured Projects:
Tea Time with Tay: Ep. 1 Let Me Introduce Myself - Taylor Lindsay Noel (RTA 996)
Listen to the full episode here
Inappropriate Questions: What are you? - Elena Hudgins Lyle, Cindy Long and Sabrina Bertsch (RTA 503/Transmedia Zone)
Listen to the full episode here
Life’s a Wreck: Episode 1 - Kyle Moore (RTA 996)
Listen to the full episode here
Listen to some of their most recent episodes:
Tea Time with Tay: Ep. 28 - Shopping Black feat. Kerin John
Inappropriate Questions: Can I ask a sex worker “What was your worst experience?”
Life’s a Wreck: S4E15: A Rising Sun and Indigenous Trauma - A Finale ft. Cheyenne Joseph
Credits
Podcast Producer and Host: Sam McNulty
Project Supervisor: Lori Beckstead
Artwork: Yvette Sin
Sound Design (Trailer, Opening and Sweepers): Anita Porgozelska
Opening and Closing Music: PHAS3.EXE by Drake Sanderson
Show Notes and Transcription: Yixin (Cherry) Yang
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 0:01
What I quickly found was that the nine to five structure that with my disability was going to be really, really taxing. And also, I just didn't want to be telling people stories that I didn't want to tell.
Kyle Moore 0:14
It was kind of like, I was like, you know, there's like a game of Jenga. And I felt like if I all of a sudden started fiddling with the pieces and telling people about what I was going through, that everything was gonna crumble down and I was gonna hurt the people who were also playing the same game.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 0:25
You don't need all that, you know, all the approval from gatekeepers or the expensive equipment to get started. And it's exciting to see people getting to own their own narratives and have that take off in this really grassroots, exciting way.
Samantha McNulty 0:39
You're listening to bounce. I'm Sam McNulty, the producer and host of the show and boy oh boy, am I excited to start this episode, we're going to be talking to some alumni who have all found success in life and more specifically, podcasting. You'll get to listen to some of their early work and I'll recommend some of their most recent after all that they'll be sharing tips and advice for building a career after university.
Anita Pogorzelska (Opening) 1:22
You're listening to bounce an RTA school media student showcase podcast.
Samantha McNulty 1:35
Our first guest comes from the RTA Media Production class of 2017. A black and disabled woman she's the host of tea time with a motivational speaker, writer, disability advocate and owner of cup of tea and luxury loose leaf teas. She's so successful that she's even ignored Oprah Her name is Taylor Lindsey-Noel. Here's what she had to say about starting a podcast.
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 2:01
I had done that the radio course and really, really enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I always thought I wanted to be on on air and the audio aspect and just being able to roll up and be wearing whatever I wanted to wear and just go into a little booth. And it was just really fun and exciting. But my main reason was because I interned during Ryerson at global news and entertainment to my Canada. And I thought that's where I wanted to be. But what I quickly found was that the nine to five structure that with my disability was going to be really, really taxing. And also, I just didn't want to be telling people stories that I didn't want to tell. And they also became very desensitized to typical media that would be quite traumatizing to people, for example, when there was a story about a kid who drowned and they were like, Oh, you know, there's no big deal. And I was like, that's still a child. So I started Tea Time with Tay and I would interview people over a cup of tea. And yeah, that's kind of where this the idea derived from. I was also obsessed with tea at the time because I was trying to become healthier. After drinking too much Starbucks while at Ryerson was my ability to lose a little bit of weight, have a healthier lifestyle switch and interview people over tea which is quite comforting. That's how I fell into it.
Samantha McNulty 3:31
Our other guests is from the RTA Media Production class of 2018. They are an associate producer for CBC's podcast playlist as well as the CO producer and co host of CBC's inappropriate question away from the mic. They love writing songs and stories and letting the leaves rule their life for some reason. Their name is Elena Hudgins Lyle, this is the story behind their podcast, Inappropriate Questions.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 4:00
My podcast started at RTA, when we were looking for a thesis project aka practicum. And we were doing our project development course where we needed to pitch our practicums and my two friends sat down at a Starbucks one day and came up with this idea they had various different ideas but my friend and co producer Sabrina is mixed race and she gets asked What are you all the time and she was like I need a forum to complain sounds like me. It's a free to really likes to be likes a good vent and said I need a forum to complain about this. And that's kind of where we got the idea to make a podcast about inappropriate questions that different communities get asked that are either nagging or invasive or sometimes just borderline like in a certain context. This question sucks in another context, it might be helpful or even like good. So that's where the idea for the show came from. And then they got me on board because Audio folks in our year were scats. And they knew that was were scarce. And they knew that was they were going to need an audio person and I was the podcast person in our year I was the I want to go into radio person. And so I came on board as a co producer, and then as a co host. And from there, we wanted this show to appeal to different demographics. So, you know, we had me as the representative of millennials slash millennial Gen Z customers who know a lot about social justice from the internet and have that very mindset. And then we brought on Harv, who is my friend's dad, because we wanted the show to appeal to art heads. And so we put out a call on Facebook for dad or dad like figures and got some dads signed up to audition. Essentially, my co producers were teasing me for knowing so many dads, and then harvest our very first interview. And at the end of the interview, he said, How many more do you have left? Because you know, I met right. So yeah, so that's how we got my co host harvinder. And, yeah, the show has we released our first season independently and then we've been with CBC for two seasons now.
Samantha McNulty 6:19
Joining us all the way from New Brunswick, our final guest is from the RTA sport media class of 2020. Along with the personification of his mental health every Friday, this marittimer with anxiety and OCD hosts Life's a Wreck podcast, he's your mom's favorite mental health podcaster Kyle Moore
Kyle Moore 6:39
Yes, my podcast called Life's a Wreck. And it was started during the summer between my third and fourth year of school. I was I'm from the east coast of Canada. And so that was the first summer that I decided I was going to stay in Toronto, it was kind of like that first, like real step out on your own kind of thing. And I dealt with mental health issues my whole life diagnosed with anxiety and OCD. And that was kind of like the summer where things came to a bit of a peak where I thought I was gonna have a job a sports net that fell through, I thought I found this really cool consulting job with this company that turned out to be like semi fraudulent, and it was just kind of like a hole. Yeah, just like a hole kind of issue. And so I had to I had two jobs fall through both of which I was like, Okay, these are going to be the things that I'm going to do this summer. And so I was going through a breakup last those two jobs, I was already dealing with my mental health issues. And basically, it just got to a point where I was like, I remember like very distinctly, like that kind of rock bottom moment of like crying on the bathroom floor and just being like, what am I doing, like what's going on. And so I had my entire life, it really held in a lot of what was going on in my head, I didn't really want to tell my parents like I had a great life. I'm living with my parents, right now, we've got a amazing family and amazing housing and amazing town. And I just never really wanted to like, ruffle those feathers. I was kind of like I was like, you know, there was a game of Jenga. And I felt like if I all of a sudden started fiddling with the pieces and telling people about what I was going through that everything was gonna crumble down and I was gonna hurt the people who are also playing the same game. And so I just decided I was like, You know what, I want to kind of create something where I can get things off my chest, but I don't really feel like I'm putting people and I'm using air quotations here, like out of their way, where it's like, Hey, here's this thing that I've created, and you can go to it on your own time, whenever you feel comfortable. Just to hear about what I'm going through, it's just a chance for me to kind of cathartic and get a bunch of stuff off my chest. And so at first it kind of started like an Audio Diary. And it just kind of grew from there. All the sudden, I started to talk with different members of like my community, and then all of a sudden I was like, well, like, I'd love to talk with athletes. So I talked to some athletes. And then it kind of became something where we really found a joy in like talking with people who influence popular culture about how mental health plays a role in the day to day lives. So athletes, musicians, actors and actresses, politicians, just like my own friends and family, and just kind of sharing their experiences with mental health and how it's not just mental illness, mental health is is everything that we do. So yeah, that's kind of how it started. We just celebrated our two year anniversary a couple days ago. So been been independent for the two years and it's been it's been a lot of fun to kind of grow as a team and see things start to flourish.
Unknown Speaker 9:22
You're listening, you're listening to you're listening to bounced.
Samantha McNulty 9:32
Now that you know who our guests are and the stories behind their projects, I think it's time that you had a taste of their work. We're reaching back into the archive and featuring clips from their first episodes. We're starting off with Taylor's Tea Time with Tay before podcasting Taylor was an aspiring Olympic gymnast. In 2008. She suffered a devastating accident while in training that left her paralyzed in a wheelchair. In this first episode, Taylor introduces herself and tells us the story of her accident.
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 10:04
On that specific day, July 15, my coach, my male coach at the time, came up to me and asked me to perform a skill. He called it a double reg p a double front, reg P. Now, if we go back eight years, YouTube was not very prevalent. If someone nowadays were to ask me to do or perform a skill, or perform anything, anything as simple as make an egg, or make a boiled egg, or how to set up a computer, anything you want, is on the internet now. But back eight years ago, that wasn't very common. So I remember him coming up to me. My other friend was there as well hearing this entire conversation. And he asked me to do it. He said, I you know, let's try this. And I remember looking back at him and thinking, What are you talking about? It is not very common that you come across a skill in gymnastics, especially after having trained in it for 10 years that you've never heard of. And so I asked him to try to describe it to me. He described it as two front flips, leaving the bar going forward. I'm trying to simplify this. For people who are listening who don't know the sport very well. Obviously, any gymnast would probably know what a rugby is a toe and regmi Cast ah ndstand stepped down, do a front tuck leaving the high Bra But for people who might not understand it is essentially doing two front rotations. 360s I think people call it ,leaving the bar, but you are almost starting the rotation going backwards. If it sounds complicated, it's because it is. It's humanly impossible, which I came to find out much later. And I remember kind of laughing and saying, I don't know how to do that. There's no way I'm going to do that. And I communicated this to him. him being the person that he is and was I don't know him now. So I can't say his But was he was like, No, we're gonna try this. It's gonna be fine. And this conversation, this back and forth, went on for close to one hour. Yeah, it was. It was one of the most frustrating things, because at the at the time, I was only 14 years old. It is very rude and disrespectful as I was taught to talk back to a superior, obviously, in life by in the sport of gymnastics, you turn this phone off in the sport of gymnastics, you your coach, you are taught to listen to your coach taught to trust in your coach, and I wish I could imagine with any sport, and I had a great deal and level of respect and trust in Him. So I would continually express that. I didn't know how to do the skill. I asked him to see a video he said there was no video of it. I told him I have never heard of it. He said that it's because it's never been competed on a world state. This was the truth. It has never been competed on the world stage. But what he failed to tell me as well is that it has never been competed anywhere. And he knew that and failed to communicate that to me. If I had known at the time that this skill had never been completed anywhere before. competed anywhere before I would definitely would have definitely set off more red flags. And it already had been I knew something was wrong. I knew something didn't seem right. But if I had known that it had never been competed before, ever, Valve would probably signify that it is a very difficult skill. There's hundreds of skills that can be performed in the sport of gymnastics. So to have a skill that has never been performed anywhere would have told me that I probably should not do this. Again, reiterating let to not stick in this footage monastics. Bars was my worst event. If there was anyone who should have been a guinea pig for this skill. I was the last person
going back to our back and forth this went on for An extremely long time. And to be honest, I was surprised I wasn't kicked out of the gym. Because if you have a disagreement with a coach, sometimes they'll kick you out for the day and say, You know why go on the changeroom set, we're done. And I was expecting that to happen, because of the back and forth we were having. But for some reason, he decided to keep persisting, and finally ended it with Taylor, you are letting your judgment, your fear, cloud your judgment, trust in me, I'm an Olympic level coach, I wouldn't ask you to do anything you are not capable of. And that statement is one that still eight years from now haunts me. Because I should have probably listened to my judgment more than someone else. But again, 14 years old, when this person is someone who you trust, and hang out with and are with more hours of a week than you are with your own parent, you have to believe in them, you have to believe that they will never put you in a situation that could hurt you. And so I trusted him on the very first attempt at the skill, I landed completely on my back on a mat. And I had no idea where I was absolutely no idea. And that is a terrifying thing. For dentists, we have such good body awareness, we need to be in control of our bodies, at all times, our minds in our body need to be in sync, in my mind in my body were completely disconnected. It was like, it was almost like an out of body experience, because I was seeing what was happening. But knowing that it was me but I had no idea what I was doing how I was going to complete it. I had no mental vision of what I was doing. And that terrified me beyond belief. Before the very first attempt, I had asked him to spot me, which means to step in and be there to catch me if I fall to help me complete the skill. And he told me that this, that he was not able to spot it, because he said that he would get in the way. But again, a very another red flag. And so after the first attempt, I was petrified to do it again. I expressed this to him. We had cameras in the gym so that we could watch back our performances after you complete them. And him and I both went over to the cameras, we watched and it was so clear that you could see in my eyes and in my body language, how lost I was in the Air trying to complete the skill. I got it only about one and a half rotations around which is why I wasn't able to landed on my feet and why I instead landed on my back tiebreak. And so after watching it again, we went back and forth for probably another 10 minutes. me just crying and expressing to him how terrified I was to do it again. And yet again. he calmed me down, told me that you know what, you're not going to get it on the first try. Try it again. And so I did. I put my fear to the side. I put my gut feelings to the side. And I decided to instead put trust, I trust in Him. My trust that he felt as though I would be able to do it. Even though my body was telling me I don't think we can do this. So on the second attempt at the skill, I left the high bar got about one and a third rotations around landed they were actually on my head broke my neck, instantly severing my spinal cord at the C four c five level and landed on my back.
Samantha McNulty 19:53
What I admire most about this episode is its quietness. She tells her story with such grace and vulnerability and really embraces the silence around her. She doesn't rush or have music or sound effects because she doesn't need to. The way she invites us into this intimate space with her is so captivating. I really encourage you to listen to the rest of this first episode and also her second. You can find links to them in our other features in our show notes. Our next feature is from Elena's inappropriate questions. You probably remember them talking about their producer Cindy, and in this clip, you'll get to meet her.
Speaker 1 20:34
What are you? Where are you from? Where are your parents from?
Speaker 2 20:38
What it was like to quote unquote, grow up as an Oriental half breed in Canada?
Speaker 3 20:44
It's not the innocent question that a lot of people try and make it out to be.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 20:50
We're talking to inappropriate questions producer Sabrina Burch? Hi. We're doing this episode on the question. What are you all because of you?
Sabrina 21:01
Yeah, so I'm
Elena Hudgins Lyle 21:02
We do most things all because of you.
Sabrina 21:04
Yes.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 21:04
Go on with your story.
Sabrina 21:06
I'm mixed race and throughout my entire life. I've gotten lots of questions about my ethnicity, both personally and professionally.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 21:13
Can you tell us about a time someone has directly asked a stranger in particular?
Sabrina 21:17
Yeah, so I was at a hotpot restaurant with my sister, I went to the bathroom and another lady. I could have just saw and we're both like washing our hands, we did the thing where you like make eye contact in the mirror. And I smiled and she just kind of like looked at me. And she was like, Oh, you know, like, what's like, what's your background where you're from? Like, you just look very, like, she didn't say different. She's kind of trailed off. And I felt very like, you don't know me. We're just strangers in the bathroom at a restaurant. Like you don't care about who I am. You just have to care for your own reasons that we like satisfying your curiosity.
Harv 21:53
What you said is Rena is very, very interesting. I don't know whether you guys have noticed I wear a turban. So at times people look at me funny. Like they're uncomfortable. I rather people ask me that question. Even if they're strangers, then be uncomfortable, because that's what makes me more uncomfortable.
Sabrina 22:17
What's not interesting to me because I'm like, you should be able to talk to anyone without having them, like quantify or explain themselves or legitimize themselves based on their ethnicity or background or religion or any of that, like, you shouldn't allow people to perpetuate that, it's not okay.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 22:32
Right. All right Harv. I think it's time for us to talk to some actual experts now,
Harv 22:37
I guess so,
Elena Hudgins Lyle 22:38
get out of here.
Sabrina 22:40
Okay, this was fun. I probably won't come back anymore,
Elena Hudgins Lyle 22:43
better get her out Harv.
Harv 22:44
Thank you so much Sabrina
people are curious, and that's great.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 22:50
But there are some questions you just shouldn't ask, or at least not like that.
Harv 22:55
I'm Harvinder Wadhwa
Elena Hudgins Lyle 22:57
I'm Elena Hudgins Lyle,
Harv 22:58
and this is Inappropriate Questions.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 23:01
Let's get inappropriate.
In studio with us, we have Rema Tavares Rema is an artist and educator who identifies as black mixed. She founded Mixed In Canada, a resource center for mixed race Canadians, and also co founded the mixed art conference. And she's here with us to help us break down the question. What are you? Welcome, Rema,
Rema 23:22
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Harv 23:23
It's gonna be a lot of fun talking to you and learning a lot from you today.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 23:27
Rema, could you tell us about an experience you've had being asked, "What are you?"
Rema 23:32
Yeah, so I was at a meeting to ask for donations because I was working for a charity. And the person, you know, kept looking at me, was a guy. I believe he was Italian. Eventually, he was like, Rema, what kind of name is that? Which is another word for what are you? Of course. And so I explained, and you know, I try my best to take up as much space as possible when people ask me what I am. Because it's an invasive question. And people usually want an answer like this. But no one's entire identity can be responded to in an answer so small, I know you can't see me right now, but my fingers are very close together. And so I answered, and I gave him the full answer. And he responded, you You shouldn't, you shouldn't say that you're black. You don't look it you can just say that you're Jewish. And then continued to say, but make sure to tell your husband because one of your kids might turn out black and black blackness is carried on the female line.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 24:40
Wow.
Rema 24:41
So you know, when you break that down, there are a lot of assumptions about you know, anti blackness about if you don't have to be black, why would you ever choose it? There are you know, assumptions about whether I would lie and pass for white and not tell my husband quote unquote, that I was black. It's not the innocent question that a lot of people try and make it out to be, like, I'm just curious is often not actually true, you know, whether they realize it or not. On the flip side, I actually like most of the time when people ask me, and it helps to, I think, in my mind, avoid future anti black comments in my presence. So when people assume that I'm not black, they will say things about black people that they wouldn't necessarily say in front of someone who they can read as black. So I like when people ask me, but I think I'm unique in that situation, sometimes, because of the privilege I have of being racially ambiguous, of being able to pass for white sometimes,
Harv 25:48
Wow somuch to unpack. Oh, my God. So people are just curious, and not in a negative way. If we were all the same, we will be very, very boring. So at times, it could be an opening or breaking the ice as I would say that okay, knowing a little bit about you. That's, that's how maybe the friendships develop. So have you ever looked at those angles of things?
Rema 26:16
Yeah, absolutely. I think that it's more about how and when. So for example, you know, if I meet you for the first time and within, you know, hi, like, what do you do? You know, the usual questions, what are you? That's pretty invasive. You know, I think if we, on the other hand, let's say we're colleagues, and we work together. And then one day, you're like, hey, by the way, I was wondering, like, what's your background? that's, to me less invasive that we're, you kind of know me a little bit already. You're not just a stranger approaching me, like in a park. Which happens, you know, I think that is a bit of a difference. I think sometimes, you know, the idea is, instead of what are you, which is objectification. In the truest sense. Who are you? You know, how do you identify? Those are ways that you can ask people about themselves, where they get to own the answer a little bit more. And it's a bit more humanizing. And it's really about who gets asked the question, you know, from my understanding, most white people are not asked, Where are you from? Or what are you? And that really speaks to who is Canadian and who isn't? In our minds, unconsciously and consciously, but mostly unconsciously.
Samantha McNulty 27:38
That was an excerpt from their first episode. What are you? This episode in particular really resonates with me as someone who is also a mixed race. Growing up, I was kind of honored by someone asking me that question. I was excited to tell them about my heritage. You know, my mom is Filipino, my dad is Irish, French, Canadian, etc, etc. But as I got older, I kind of started getting tired of the question and kind of mad that I had insecurities around being mixed race. Anyways, I think there's a lot to take away from this episode, whether you're mixed race or not, like everything Inappropriate Questions deals with it's a nuanced topic. But just because something is complex to talk about doesn't mean we shouldn't have conversations about it. Our final feature is the perfect example of that. It's Life's a Wreck by Kyle Moore, a podcast about mental health and living with mental illness. In this clip, Kyle tells us the story of his own mental health journey.
Kyle Moore 28:39
So my experience with mental health started when I was very young, I'd say between the ages of five and six, I grew up in a very, very tight knit family. I also suffered for some from some pretty serious anxiety as a kid. One of the things I was so afraid of was losing my family, I had a, articulating exactly what was going on is tough. But I had such a fear of loss in my life. That was one of the things that caused me a lot of anxiety as a kid, I if I didn't tell my parents and my little sister, if I didn't say the words, goodnight, love you see in the morning, I wouldn't be able to sleep and I would have some pretty, pretty vivid panic attacks at night. So that was something that I that I really latched on to, I had some obsessive compulsive tendencies, which then later in life, when I got to grade about 11, in grade 12, that kind of manifested itself a little bit more, more extremely. And I had a therapist diagnosed me with, with some some OCD on top of the anxiety. So it would be one of those things where, you know, as a pretty wicked one, two punch, all of a sudden, you'd be worked up about something that you kept looping in your mind, you latch on to a thought and the OCD would take over and then the anxiety would kind of kick in and it was almost like it's almost like you're in a boxing ring. And you just went 12 rounds with someone and you're absolutely exhausted and then a new fighter gets in You're on the canvas looking up, like what the fuck, and then someone just starts. So you could tell there's a little, you know, the gears were the gears were turning at a very young age and and it got to this point where I did, I felt very alone, I felt very distanced from the people in my life, I was kind of drifting through life, I guess you could say. And just there wasn't a lot of, there wasn't a lot of emotion, apart from the anxiety and the fear of just just everyday life. So it did it gods who were really, really tough point. And then were the part where physical wellness comes in. and physical health was, for me anyway, personally, it was sports, my mind was going a million miles a minute, ever since I was, as I said, five or six. So the only time that you know my brain would kind of, my brain would kind of chill out was when I was playing sports, whether that was soccer, basketball, eventually football, you know, I latched on to sports, because it was the one thing that I would completely focus on every bit of my brain, everything would would completely fine. It was something that I could kind of use that anxiety and use the OCD in a really creative way I was obsessing about every play, I could kind of see the court a little bit better, because it was one of those things, every little minor detail was just running through my brain. Like about as fast as I was running down the bass, like everything was just kind of pouring in and pouring out. And it was just this data and this information was being processed by a brain that was so easy processing regular ordinary things and turning them into incredibly negative things. All the sudden it was turning these motions and these movements in this this physical activity into into physical goals, I guess. So, you know, sports were something that quite literally, I guess you could say, you know, brought me from a place of incredible darkness. A place where every you know, every day waking up, as I said, it was like going 12 rounds, and then going 12 rounds again, and the only the only breather I got was when I slept. And so sports very quickly became something I latched on to and something to this day that are so so important to me. That's what I study in school. That's something that have always been such a massive, massive part of my life. So and then after that, I mean, my journey through physical wellness, I enjoyed sports my whole life. But I was always a little bit of a beanpole, I, I guess I hit a growth spurt. I don't know, probably early high school, I was about like, 6,1", 6,2", you know, I was total skin and bones. And it was something that I was, you know, I was very self conscious about, I always held myself in my head to a very, very high standard. I didn't want to disappoint anyone in my life. I, you know, it was it was the anxiety and it was, you know, a little bit of the irrationality but, you know, I felt like if I didn't, you know, wasn't really pleasing the people in my life that, that it just, you know, I wasn't worth it, or I wasn't this and I wasn't that. So, you know, that was something that you know, I started to to combat this, I guess the you know, these body image issues. You know, I started going to the gym, I started working out, and I was very and then I guess when you combined the working out with the obsessive compulsive, it was something that I was consistently striving to get better. But like the sports, it was something that I was using quite, I guess productively, it turned into something that I very much enjoyed. As my physical health improved, my mental health improved as I focused more on my physical health, which is something that I'm that I'm doing right now. My mental health just continued to improve. And I always found the link between them was very powerful. As your physical health gets better your mental health gets better. And as your mental health gets better, you don't have as many things to worry about, you're not as anxious, you have more time to go do the physical things that you love, whether that's running or playing sports or going to the gym, you know, the two overlap so often, that it just became such a part of my day to day life and getting better and kind of dragging myself out of that mud that was just this, this really tough mental time. And then also, you know, the relationship, the direct relationship between the two with things like meditation and yoga, and using your body in a mindful way and how you can kind of heal the body and the mind at the same time. Meditation is something that is very important to my day to day life personally. And then even going that step further. And all of a sudden, you're focusing on your nutrition, and you're focusing on fueling your body with good positive fuel. I recently just started to eat a plant based diet, which was tough at the beginning, not totally vegan. I'm kind of taking baby steps possibly to getting there one day. So right nowI'm a vegetarian, and I've had a few slip ups along the way. But that's all part of the process, which is another thing that throughout this podcast, I want to make sure that all the men and the people in men's lives out there understand is that this is totally a process. You can't expect everything to improve overnight and it absolutely doesn't. There will be days where you think oh my gosh, I'm finally over everything I'm on top of the world. And you know that the mental health stuff and you know, your physical wellness will dip and all of a sudden, these these dark times start to creep back up on you but it's just that getting better just putting your best foot forward every day and doing those little things to improve
Samantha McNulty 35:02
I really love how upfront Kyle is with his own story and how open he is about talking about mental health. In that episode, he really establishes a sense of safe space by letting you into his own life. I think Kyle is super cool. And he's someone I personally look up to a lot. His podcast is great for getting you out of a negative headspace and even getting you to reflect on your own life and how you handle your mental health. His Instagram is also super active if you want to follow and he does this mini live show every week called Wednesday's a Wreck. It's a great example of how a podcaster can stay connected with their audience and how to foster a real community with your listeners. That said, I'm sure you're all excited to meet Taylor, Kyle and Elena. So enough of my thoughts, let's drop in and listen to theirs
...That's something I love about all your podcasts. Like, coincidentally, I chose all the guests who have podcast about opening up conversations as opposed to, you know, shutting them down and saying why you shouldn't have this conversation. You're all very open and very honest. And Taylor, I especially loved your first episode of your podcast, because I just loved that it was just you and your voice and your story. And I loved how intimate it all felt.
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 36:26
I appreciate you saying that. Like I said, my first one was like, a get to know me. And I think what it was like a combination of just emotions I haven't listened to in so long, but I think I like got a little emotional, and I and I was just, it was my opportunity. Because my story has been told so many times, and you know, the newspaper, on TV, and I was like, they never get it right. I feel like they always miss something, or they always look around. And I was like, This is my opportunity. Or there's like a lot of opinions because of my accident. Some people, like my coach was definitely at fault and the reason why I'm like I'm paralyzed but so many people like, Oh, she should have stood up for herself more or like there's always this back and forth. And I'm like, this is my opportunity to say what I want to say, say my truth and be able to leave it and have peace with it. Knowing that I said what I wanted to say in the way I wanted to say it. And I didn't realize at the time when I was recording it how emotional it would be for me, but just really has been, it was such a cathartic experience and made me feel really excited about the platform.
Samantha McNulty 37:36
Yeah, Kyle your podcast is also pretty personal. What was it like recording your first episode?
Kyle Moore 37:44
Yeah, it was, it was interesting, for sure. I mean, like, like I said, like, I was pretty adamant about the fact that I was never going to tell anybody. But what I was going through mentally, hearing Taylor kind of I just had a big smile on my face because hearing Taylor kind of talking about like owning your story and like that authenticity. It's just amazing. Like that's that's kind of what I've eventually realized about my podcast has been just the most impactful thing for me is just the ability to like, like, the question of how much of you is in your podcast, like all of me is in my podcast. It's it started the whole first seed or the whole first year, basically, the podcast was majority just me telling, like talking about my experiences, didn't do a lot of interviews that first year it was basically just like I have a backlog of years and years of kind of beating up on myself mentally that I'd loved just to kind of get all on out into the universe somewhere. So it was, it was a lot. I know that like when I recorded my first episode, I didn't really know what I was doing. Like I just kind of like sat down, and my roommate had a mic and I remember I had I wrapped a sock around it as like a pop filter. And it was sitting on top of a of a Maxwell House coffee can and and I basically just sat down and I was like okay, like what, what's the most important thing to me right now, like, what do I want to talk about? And basically it, like it was just an introduction to who I am. And it was a very sparse version of kind of what I went through. And then as those episodes progressed, I just got more and more comfortable. As I started to see the feedback. I had definitely some tough conversations-- well, not tough, but really much needed conversations with my parents and the people close to me, once they started to hear the podcast. I mean, it completely changed my life. Like it was one of those things, where getting all these experiences out there and then connecting with other people and realizing not only am I not alone, but there's a hundreds of 1000s of people who are going through the exact same, millions of people who are going through the exact same thing as me. And you know, we might be in different boats, but we're all in the same storm. And it was really cool just to like, be accepted into that space and to be able to kind of like be at the forefront of change within my community and province. And yeah, it was it was the start of something much bigger than I thought at the time, which is really, really cool to look back on.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 39:55
It's exciting to hear you both say those things because I think that's what a lot of us want from this medium. And that's the ideals we see in this medium of it being a place where you can own your own story, a place that is pretty easy to get started in. It's hard to keep up. It's hard work to keep up. But I think podcasting is this, you know, very accessible, you know, you don't need all that, you know, all the approval from gatekeepers or the expensive equipment to get started. And it's exciting to see people getting to own their own narratives and have that take off in this really grassroots exciting way.
Kyle Moore 40:35
Yeah, that's what I love about podcasting it's just so raw, in a way, like, obviously, you have podcasts that are heavily edited and stuff and obviously, I trim my podcasts up as does a lot of people. But it's just so that like, it's just so there's there's a conversation between, you know, two or three or however many people Yeah, and I feel like as soon as you take the video out of it, too, people are a little bit more like laid back a little bit more relaxed. It's all just kind of like that phone call where you're like pacing around the house, but you just like yeah, you just like sit down and chat. It's nice.
Samantha McNulty 41:05
I agree with everything that was just said. Yeah, all you got to make me cry. I'm glad my video's off. Elena, do you want to touch on your process behind recording your first episode? I know Kyle and Taylor both talked about theirs. What was your process like?
Elena Hudgins Lyle 41:23
Oooh. So it was interesting. The first one we started recording was not the one that we put out as our first episode, we really, you know, talking about being heavily edited Kyle, we really, really put a lot into the details of this show and we edit it heavily. Most of our interviews boil down to being about like 10 to 15 minutes. And there's different segments within the show. And usually those interviews are like half an hour to an hour. Our poor, poor editor Cindy. We have a bit of a recurring gag now where Harv gets frustrated at Cindy for trimming out all of his various jokes and his favorite moments from interviews, but just so much has to go that--
Kyle Moore 41:29
Just a big shout out to all of the podcast producers out there.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 42:13
Yeah, honestly.
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 42:15
They are the MVPs
Elena Hudgins Lyle 42:18
Exactly. No, you gotta do an episode Sam with just all editors. Like,
Samantha McNulty 42:23
Yes!
Elena Hudgins Lyle 42:24
We're just the pretty faces, you know, or faces for radio as the case may be. I only speak for myself.
So we took a long time putting out that first season. I think the first couple interviews we did were recorded in the summer of 2017 and came out in winter 2019. So there was a ton of runway and a ton of thought. And because we did it for school, we had all these different things we had to do as part of the pitch assignment. So we wrote like a fake script. And we have a webcomic component that goes along with a podcast. So we had our friend to do a mock webcomic for us. So so much was already planned out of the structure of the show, the tone of the show and exactly what we were going for. So a lot of that work went into like eventually the first episode, we decided to start with the What are you question because that was so close to one of our producers' personal experience. And from there, you know, we just researched guests, we found some people we found really compelling. I we recorded them at Ryerson. And yeah, spent like months and months cutting these interviews down and also working on a digital strategy. It was hard to keep ourselves accountable because we were also working full time. I think at that point, we had just left school. So there was just a lot of runway and a lot of trying to hold ourselves accountable. We worked with the transmedia zone. So that helped a bit with accountability. And the other thing that helped was eventually just sitting down in early winter of 2019 and be like, okay, we just got to do this. We have a couple of rough cuts of episodes, we need to commit to a timeline. So as soon as we did that, those were some of the most stressful months of my life. But we committed to releasing in February 2019 and announced it and everything so we couldn't go back and decided you know, we had about three episodes almost ready to go. And from there we kind of committed to an order, committed to a digital strategy. And then it was it was really hard. It was very hard. I was working at SpiritLive as station manager that year. And I was really overwhelmed and we would spend Sunday nights at the RCC just mixing the episode to go out on Tuesday, it would sometimes take us to the wee hours that I'd have to get an Uber back in the middle of the night. Right so it was it was rough. But the interviews themselves are really I'm proud of those early episodes still, because I think we did you know, after all that thought really get to what we wanted out of the show. And I think those I think they still hold up.
Samantha McNulty 45:10
Do those early episodes still exist? Are they on CBC's listing of the show?
Elena Hudgins Lyle 45:15
Yeah. So all of those were imported, basically into the CBC feed when we had to switch feeds. And they actually, we had a radio run last summer, and we're having one again this summer. And all of our early episodes were played on the radio as well. So good enough for somebody.
Samantha McNulty 45:32
For all the dads.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 45:40
I will say you do reach more dads on traditional radio, so we get comments from real boomers, when we're on the radio, which I love.
Samantha McNulty 45:50
You touched on a bit about growing your work outside the university in that process, you had started as a thesis production, and then it moved to the transmedia zone and then eventually, to CBC. How did I or IQ, Inappropriate Questions go from transmedia zone to CBC?
Elena Hudgins Lyle 46:07
Well, we joined the transmedia zone applying for a scholarship to help us produce it. And that money, because it was also giving us access to the RCC studios, which we had learned how to use through schools. So it was kind of a perfect transition. Because of all of that, we really got to use our money on, you know, very limited special things like giving gift cards to guests to thank them for coming in and planning a launch event and other sorts of like digital and otherwise promotion. So that was really helpful. Along with the accountability that the transmedia zone gave us, they really held our feet to the fire when we needed it and ask for certain deliverables or certain plans at different times, because this is how they check in with their various teams that are working on various projects. So that was really helpful. Eventually, I started interning at the CBC, in 2018. So right before we graduated, while we were still working on the show, and I think some of our early work on the show was something I put on my resume and my portfolio in order to help me get opportunities like that. And so in these various internships, including CBC people got to hear about the show, and got to give me some advice and help me through as we were working on developing. And then eventually, we released the show independently. And one of the big things that happened was the Apple Podcasts put us on various lists, including their new and noteworthy. I think they Yeah, new and noteworthy lists. And because of that, that's really when the show took off, I think so there's a lot of luck there. The show started charting on Apple podcasts, because of basically that us being featured. So the right person heard our show at the right time, and heard all the detail and work we'd put into it, and really liked it. And from there, the show got a bit more. Yeah, it got a bit more notice. And we got approached by one other network. And that kind of got us really excited and made us think, Okay, so what, where can we go with the show? And do we want to approach a network? And so I was speaking to my internship supervisor at CBC and she was like, you know, what, if you want to be here, if this is where you think would be a good home for the podcast, you know, talk to the people here. So people put in a good word for me, which I really appreciate. So it's a lot of luck. It was a lot of luck. It was a lot of things aligning, but I think when CBC looked at our show, they saw something that had already gotten some attention. Again, luck Apple podcasts, we always joke about how we need to give our Apple Podcasts friends a big flower basket or something. They're, they're wonderful. But they'd seen something that really reflected their values as well, or the values they aspire to. And, yeah, that they really liked overall and saw had gained an audience in some way. And so yeah, I think those were the things that drew them in. But I do want to be very clear and telling this story because people ask me this a lot. I never want to make it seem like we're just that amazing. And we did it all on merit. You know, it was partly merit that I think, you know, when we get internships, we submit our resumes, we submit our portfolios, we deserve those opportunities. But there wasn't a lot of luck involved in me getting that opportunity in me meeting the right people in our show being noticed by Apple Podcasts, all of that played into where we are now. And so there was a lot of chance involved as well as us, you know, working our butts off at the RCC until 2am. Every Sunday morning in winter 2019
Samantha McNulty 49:52
I feel like you're kind of scarred from that. Am I getting that? Right?
Elena Hudgins Lyle 49:55
Oh you know it, you can hear it in my voice.
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 49:58
Elena I know it's gonna completely not be right, what I'm going to try to say but they say that there is no luck. It's like being present for the opportunity. And like all that hard work that you put it that goes into it, it's just preparation for the opportunity because like, interning at CBC didn't have the podcast or a body of work to be able to show, you know what I mean? Tthe opportunity would not come to fruition. So there is like, I understand that whole luck thing, but also really much so is like being present for your opportunity at the right time. Yeah,
Elena Hudgins Lyle 50:34
I think there's there's a lot to that. I think you're right, I appreciate you saying that, for sure. I guess maybe more of what I should get at is the privilege of being around for these opportunities. Because, you know, I know a lot of people and I don't know about where the internships fell in both of your classes. But some of my friends couldn't take the CBC internship because it wasn't paid. And they had to take something else that was paid. And I had the opportunity to be able to take that internship because I was living from home and could afford to put all my energy into a full time unpaid internship. Right, which I know is a big issue in our industry right now. Yeah, to kind of bastardize what you just said the right opportunities are only really valuable to you if you are present for them. If you are prepared for them.
Kyle Moore 51:23
Yeah, the harder you work, the luckier you get.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 51:25
Yeah, and being ready for those opportunities. Take advantage of them and kind of invites them in.
Samantha McNulty 51:32
Accessibility really is a problem in our industry about even if it's not necessarily where you live in a location, but it could also be like, do you have the funds to like you said afford a full time internship at CBC? Kyle, you were in sport media. So you know, the whole deal with Sportsnet and all those guys and...
Kyle Moore 51:51
Oh, yeah, no, it was... I had friends of mine who would try, like I was thankful that I got into Sportsnet because I had a previous connect, but yeah, no, there... It was one of those things where like, yeah, you go in, it's unpaid for sure. But I just walked there took the bus. But I have friends who worked at TSN in Mississauga for free, and they would commute an hour and a half go work, seven hour shifts unpaid on a day they were supposed to have off and then commute an hour and a half back and pay for all of it. So it was Yeah, needless to say it was it was a pretty big issue and come my fourth year there was I didn't apply for a single unpaid internship for my fourth year internship. Everything was paid because I was just like, I couldn't. I couldn't reasonably look at that and be like, yeah, you know, that makes sense.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 51:54
Fair.
Samantha McNulty 52:01
Yeah. Taylor how did Tea Time with Tay turn, or lead into Cup of Te? And I was saying this inside my introduction for you, ignoring Oprah?
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 52:49
Okay, so Hear me out. Hear me out.
Kyle Moore 52:52
Yeah you're gonna have to explain that one, I'm on the edge of my seat right now.
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 52:58
I love it. Okay, so I'll get to how I ignored Oprah originally, but I was doing you know, the podcast thing during the podcast grind. And I knew that from listening to other podcasts, I needed to have a sponsor, at some point to make money. And so I just for the very first or second episode, I was like, I need to talk about David's Tea because I was drinking tea around the clock, and I'm interviewing people over a cup of tea, if I talk about a different flavor, every episode, maybe they'll just send me free tea or 50 dollars, you know what I mean? Like, I would have been so happy with that. And you know, I did it consistently for a while and then reached out. And like a person you swipe right on and then never responds, I got ghosted, and really hurt badly because your girl is spending 1000s of dollars a year at David's, like, literally, I had an addiction, I put all my money into it. And they never, they never got back to me. And so being a little bit petty and being a little bit of a pivoter like I always am, I was like, screw them. If you're not gonna sponsor me, I'm just gonna go Google how to make my own tea and sell it. And that's exactly what I did, I typed into Google how to sell tea legally in Canada. And through that process, I was like, okay, wait, let me reevaluate where I'm at. I loved podcasting. And I was growing, but I also was like, how am I going to make money? I grew up in a sport in gymnastics where I grew up around so many people who have generational wealth, and not coming from that, I'm like, I want to create that for myself. And so I was like, if I have my business, if I have a business selling tea, and my podcast, that'd be my outlet to be creative. I could market my tea on my podcast, and eventually get other companies to see like, Oh, look, she's sponsored by something. So I was like being a millennial. I also knew that I loved the unboxing experience and needed to be social media friendly. So I came up with the idea to launch a Cup of Te, which is a luxury loose leaf tea business, directly trying to compete and outwit David's Tea, and about a year into it, I realized that had to be my main focus. I can always go back to podcasting. In order to do my company correct, I had to devote my time to it. So I put my podcast on a hiatus, launched a Cup of Te, and in our second year, which is last year, I thought about closing down, and on July 15, which is my accident anniversary of my 12 years being in a wheelchair. I got an email from somebody who was like, hey, Taylor, I work for Oprah magazine, we'd love to try one of everything. And if you could send it to this address for consideration for the December issue. And me already being in a bad mood that day, I was like, cuz I was, you know, I'm remembering the worst experiences of my life. I was like, how is this possible? Because I went to school for Radio and Television Arts because of Oprah. I only subscribed to Oprah Magazine. This can't be, I'm less than two years into my business. This can't be real. I deleted the email and went to have breakfast and I couldn't shake it. I saw the magazine in the bathroom. And I was like, you know what? Let me Google the person, email them back. Fast forward a few months, we went through testing sent our product directly to Oprah's home in Santa Barbara. We made Oprah's favorite things list in 2020. So
Elena Hudgins Lyle 56:31
Wow.
Kyle Moore 56:33
Amazing. Taylor. Congratulations.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 56:35
Congrats. That's huge.
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 56:36
The business has been crazy ever since I feel really special because it's one of the most coveted ecommerce lists in the world to be on. And we did it, all the way from how I ghosted Oprah than quickly-
Kyle Moore 56:51
Unghosted.
Samantha McNulty 56:53
Yeah, I mean, you kind of turned it around because David's tea goes to do and you almost ghosted Oprah, that's how successful you are you know?
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 56:59
Oh, and I made it a point when I got the opportunity to talk about it in the media, because it was very widely covered. I made it a point to be like, yeah, David's Tea ghosted me. And then after, after the first story trended on Twitter for three days, they reached out and they're like, Oh, my God, we had like a different PR team at that time, like, and they're like, we'd love to like, talk about you. Because it was like, also Black Lives Matter. Like, we'd love to promote you on our channels. I was like, No, I don't need the promotion anymore.
Kyle Moore 57:00
Oh damn.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 57:01
Shadeee.
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 57:02
I sent over a list of 10 different black owned businesses. If you really want to support you can try and support it now. But don't worry, because I'm doing okay over here. So, liberating experience, like it was like my, it was like, my pretty woman moment.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 57:44
Well played
Samantha McNulty 57:45
Kyle, you have another experience after graduation? You continued your podcast past RTA? 996. Am I right?
Kyle Moore 57:52
Yeah,
Samantha McNulty 57:52
You started your podcast... Okay. I heard it through the grapevine that it was started in that class.
Kyle Moore 57:56
It was kinda like it was already going, but I kind of refined it during the class. Yeah.
Samantha McNulty 58:01
I see. Okay, you started at Ryerson. And you continued it past Ryerson. How did you get it to be what it is today? Almost. I think you were at 10,000 downloads?
Kyle Moore 58:10
Yeah, yeah, we're sitting at close to close to 12 ish now which, you know, just good. Ya know, things. It's one of those things where, when you're starting a podcast, as you know, and I'm sure our fellow guests can kind of like, speak on it as well. But like when you're starting from the grassroots, it's like everybody has a different growth structure that they look at, and especially within different niches, you can kind of expect different things, but But yeah, like, I'm really happy with where the growth is right now. We're kind of like steadily becoming one of the fastest growing mental health podcast in Canada, which is cool. Yeah, it was really cool. Like, it was one of those things where consistency just played such a huge role. It was one of those like, like Elena talks about sitting and literally editing the podcast until three in the morning, waking up doing school, going to an internship, editing a podcast, like, it was just that kind of like constant grind, getting them out of finding a schedule that worked for me, but I think my biggest thing is that I started to incorporate more of what I just loved about talking to people, which was kind of like the game of networking. I always love to kind of say like, okay, here's this person who's like this, like, you know, Olympic athlete or what have you, how can I get in touch with this person? Like, what, what kind of channels can I go through and it's just kind of, making it a bit of a game for myself. So it's like, Okay, first of all, if it's like an Olympic athlete, alright, let's look at who's the head of their department in sports and like, now, okay, like now who's their PR person and who's that PR person's assistant and blah blah blah, just kind of filtering through. And so it was just kind of like one of those things where we just started to incorporate bigger and bigger guests. And as we had on guests who had bigger networks, it was awesome because it was just like when you provide somebody an opportunity and a platform just to completely just to own their story and share --My dad just drove in and the dogs going berserk. So we have a little French Bulldog who's just got like all the attitude in the world. So Yeah, so be hearing in the background just, you know, just know that that's what it is.---Yeah, no, it just it? I don't know, it's a really tough question to answer because I think that you just kind of have to be yourself. And I think that when people really started to see that like this, you know, kid from a small town in New Brunswick started talking about his mental health now all the sudden he's talking with like, comedians and authors and all these people like, it just kind of brings a bit of more a bit more validity to it without having because we don't really have we have partners, but we don't necessarily have sponsors, right now, a lot of the income from the podcast is built through speaking engagements and that kind of stuff. So yeah, it was like build a little bit of validity and just keep doing it just constantly, you know, reaching out to new people using different networks. And I enjoy every second of it. I think that's the biggest thing. If I wasn't happy, I always say that the second I don't have fun making the podcast is the second I'll look for the next project. Because I still adore every even though I'm exhausted, sometimes even though I'm like, you know, this is crazy. I'm staying up until three in the morning, some nights, I still love every second of what I get to do and the stories that I get to share. And the it's pretty incredible. My work through advocacy is something that just makes me happier than anything because like when you're able to advocate on behalf as somebody who's like, you know, a young guy, I would like to think fairly well spoken. And I'd love to public speak, there are people who slip through the cracks of our mental health care system, and they want to tell their story, but they don't know how. And then when I'm able to kind of help them with that and we're able to see some change being made, it's really fulfilling, it's very full circle for me. So no, I just, I just love it. And I'm gonna just consistently grow at the pace that I'm growing and continue to have bring more people onto the incredible team and make it make it work day by day.
Samantha McNulty 1:01:42
I really love that you brought that up of what motivates you to continue your project because a lot of podcasts, especially ones that were made during school tend to drop off only after a few episodes because you know, life's busy, you know, if your podcast doesn't have a sponsor like David's Tea, if they ghost you, it's hard to continue your podcast after that and make it sustainable. Elena and Taylor, what motivates you to continue doing the work that you do?
Elena Hudgins Lyle 1:02:09
Taylor? Are you still doing your podcast? Or are you mostly getting your tea business?
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 1:02:12
That's actually something I was gonna talk about. So as of today, my podcast has, I would I would I want to call two seasons under our belt. And it's on a hiatus. I actually through all of the overexposure and stuff like that, I have had an offer to what I call resurrect it and bring it to a platform like a you know, not CBC, but another radio station. And I want to do it. And I think that my whole goal with this was always to get my business to a point where it runs itself kind of and so I can get back to the things that I really love to do, which is talking and being creative. And I'm also a motivational speaker. So I think garnering all of those different experiences. And now being able to have a bigger platform than I've ever had before, will be a great opportunity this fall to start my podcast again, and hopefully continue to do that and use it as a platform to do all the other things I want to do like write a book and continue my motivational speaking, I think podcasting has just become a form that people just love and adore so much. And I really do miss doing it and connecting with people because being an entrepreneur is very lonely. So I think it's well, it's still entrepreneurship when you're a podcaster. So let me not say that, but you know, the business world was never my, my love. And so I'm looking to get back into it this fall after our store launch. So...
Elena Hudgins Lyle 1:03:45
Well I'm excited for your relaunch. What keeps us I think, now that we joined CBC, this is part of my job, so I do get paid to do it. So it's definitely helpful for motivation when it's you know, your job, and you have to make time for it because it's your job. I think my friends, my co producers are really what keeps me going. Most of all, because letting down your work is one thing, but letting down your friends feels awful. So, you know, doing your best work to make them proud is definitely been a key motivator for me. And also I feel like in the past, I've definitely had teams where I have a creative idea and I have people who are really excited about it, but it just falls off. You know, I think we've all had that experience. And I think the difference with this team is that we're very well balanced in terms of our abilities and just our natures. I am kind of all over the place. I am I think I bring again my warmth and my humor and some sort of host charisma I guess, to the project and a lot of ideas. I'm definitely an ideas blue sky kind of person. And, and my co producer, Sabrina is very practical. And she's good at booking those guests and making sure we stay on schedule and building up that big schedule. And people are constantly impressed at CBC with just how detail oriented we are. And I'm like, that's all her that has nothing to do with me. I'm just like, you know, my brains wandering over here. And Cindy is a really good editor. And that's what she does professionally as well, and is very, very practical as well, but in a different way. She's less of the emails communications person and more of the like, alright, what practically do we need to get done now to stay on task. And Harv is really fun to work with, and really fun to chat with. And he just brings a different perspective to the show than I do with his different you know, being older, being a boomer, you know, and his different identities. And so I think together, I feel that motivation, because my feet get held to the fire, and because our different roles really work well together. And it can be hard to recognize until either a team you're working with, because with RTA, I'm sure we've all had bad group work. That is the hallmark of RTA
Kyle Moore 1:06:15
That is absolutely true.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 1:06:16
Right? So it's very, it's so exciting and lucky when you find the right fit. And you might not realize you have or haven't found the right fit until it's either really working or something's really falling apart and you can't pinpoint it. We've really been able to persevere through really stressful times, and to not get mad at each other that much and when we do to work through it. And this project has always meant a lot to us. And we've really been dedicated to keeping it going forward, even though we didn't do it for practicum. And even though we took it independent, even before we had our network, we were really like this is something we really care about. So I feel like finding the right team who work well with you and people who have the same dedication. I'm so lucky in that way. And so thankful. And finding the right team, I think can be the difference between whether you kind of abandon a project before you get there or whether you have a lot of fun and some success doing it.
Samantha McNulty 1:07:16
Okay, well, now I'm jealous, I get it, you have the Dream Team. So Kyle, you touched on this earlier, when you were talking about hustling between multiple different jobs. Taylor, you also talked about this as being an entrepreneur and you have to put yourself on a hiatus for your podcast because you had to put your business in the right place. And this kind of hustle culture is kind of permanent and omnipresent throughout North America, but especially in the media industry. So whether it be juggling multiple projects, jobs, or relationships, there's always a lot going on at the same time. How do you balance your life in your career?
Kyle Moore 1:07:50
It's tough, because it's still something that I work with. I think that like you have to be you have to be ready to adapt, like I'm sure Taylor has seen, when you go from a grassroots tea company to being featured on Oprah's favorite things like I'm sure that your life changes. Like I'm sure that the workload changes. So I don't know, I think it's all just kind of like it's all relative to what's going on. But the biggest piece of advice that I have is, is pace yourself and be patient because I was the biggest proponent for I'm going to grind my ass off, I'm going to sleep three hours a night, I thought that like that all of a sudden, my podcast would explode, it would get picked up. And it would be like the biggest mental health podcast in Canada and then the world within like a year. And now I'm two years into it living with my parents and still working a second job. So you definitely have to like and it's just one of those things. It's like you have to be doing it for the right reasons. But also, like put yourself first like my podcast has gotten 100% better ever since I moved it to a bi weekly podcast, because it gave myself the time to not only like prep for my interviews in a way that like I felt comfortable with. But also just like it gives me the time in between to just live my life like I'm a 22 year old guy. I'm it's one of those things where I really think that there's a lot of life to experience. And as an entrepreneur, it's super easy to get focused in on solely your project. But it's like you have to incorporate your project as a part of your life, your whole life can't just be the thing you're working on, or you're not going to be very fun on dates. And I just, I think that you just really have to just kind of like get to find what works for you. What works for me might not work for Taylor, Taylor might grind, you know, however X amount of hours a day, Elena, Sam, like everybody has a different level of like what they're able to put into their work. And so I think it's just like it's just doing what's right for you don't don't expect to be perfect right off the bat.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 1:09:36
That's interesting, because I have the same experience in that this season. Inappropriate Questions moved to being bi weekly. And that was one of the things we asked CBC for. Because at the end of our second season, they're like, can we have more episodes if you're getting a third season? We were like, cool. The last one burnt us the heck out. How can we manage this? Okay, let's try doing it bi weekly. That'll give us way more time to turn around the episodes for mixes for edits. And it's been really nice. I've gotten to take a couple weeks off of recording,
Kyle Moore 1:10:12
Isn't that lovely?
Elena Hudgins Lyle 1:10:12
The past month or so? And yeah, it's been so nice. And I hear you, I'm still struggling with that too. My one word answer was going to be poorly. Like, it's, it's a hard thing to balance, especially since my co producers still work nine to five at other companies. And I work more traditional hours. But then also because my co workers are working more traditional hours. At other jobs, I need to be available for evening and weekend meetings and recordings. So my life's kind of all over the place. And it's been so helpful, though, to really identify that we were burnt out to know what we wanted in the next season and be like, Alright, we can do this, we can give you more content, but we can do it this way. And they've been accommodating of that, thankfully. And that's been such a godsend this season. Our editor was just looking back at our journal from last year being like, Oh, look, it was me writing about being up until 4am mixing an episode. Great. Isn't it nice that I don't do that as much anymore?
Samantha McNulty 1:11:21
Taylor, do you have anything to add? Because you're balancing a lot on your plate, you're a CEO of Cup of Te, a motivational speaker, advocate writer, podcaster with the list goes on? What do you have to say about hustle culture?
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 1:11:33
I truthfully don't do that, well, I need to make more time for self care. So often, I just keep working until like one or two o'clock in the morning. And there's really no break or divide from my social life and my work life and just overall rest. And the pandemic definitely didn't make life easier. Because before, you know, I would take those breaks to like, go out for drinks with my friends at the end of the week, or meet up with people. But when I was home a lot, that really changed. But I think right now what I'm trying to do is like find one creative activity to do a day and right now I am self teaching myself Spanish. So that is definitely something that is my form of self care, along with watching a lot of reality TV.
Samantha McNulty 1:12:31
So what is one final piece of advice that you'd want to tell your first year self?
Kyle Moore 1:12:36
Oof.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 1:12:38
For myself, I think I was really hesitant in first year, I saw lots of posts for different extracurricular activities or practicum productions, you could join that they needed a PA for, all these different things that our profs were encouraging us to get involved in. And I eventually, you know, slowly got there and got involved in some. But I would look at these postings and be like, Oh, I don't have the experience and the skills for that. What would I do? You know, how would I help, it would be so embarrassing. And I didn't, I didn't really go for it. And I think it was when I started really going for these things. And you don't have to like join someone else's thing. You can make it up. Some friends and I started a media conference at RTA one year and it went really well. And it was kind of amazing that we just kind of dreamed that up from the ground up, you can make your own thing happen, you can join another project. But doing stuff outside of class is really rewarding. And it will help you build that portfolio that like we were mentioning will help you get internships and stuff and opportunities. And it will just teach you how to do the stuff that you want to do on your own anyway. So I would really recommend if you're in first year like really think about what interests you and what you want to do and try stuff out you know, you don't have to commit to anything but if you see a post for an exciting opportunity, just go for it doesn't matter if you feel like you're under experienced everyone is.
Samantha McNulty 1:14:06
Preach. Yeah, Taylor, what about you? What's the advice you would give your first year self?
Taylor Lindsay-Noel 1:14:11
I would tell my first year self to get more involved in school. Being a commuter school Ryerson, I really didn't spend a lot of time on campus and you know, I had a few fun wild nights at the Ram and the Ryer but I really wish I took part in more clubs, got to know more people, stayed around and studied at school more because that's really when you make those connections that are long lasting. Don't get me wrong, I do have people who I still talk to but not in that super close and intimate way which I wish I would have been able to carry with me throughout. And I'm very lucky to have gone to RTA, radio and television arts because whether we know each other, we're in the same year or 10 years apart, there really is this community outside of school. Then you go into the workforce. And when you come across a fellow RTA, it's almost like this unsaid bond. But it would have been really cool to be more involved while I was there, because once you exit university, the real world starts. And it can be very unforgiving at times.
Samantha McNulty 1:15:17
Kyle, I feel like you've been steaming over here
Kyle Moore 1:15:19
Big time.
Samantha McNulty 1:15:21
Have you brewed anything up for us?
Kyle Moore 1:15:22
Yeah, I mean, it's so it's so true. And first of all, Ram in the Rye, welcome to the world's worst shit list. Not somewhere you want to find yourself,
Elena Hudgins Lyle 1:15:33
My gosh.
Kyle Moore 1:15:35
So it is so tough because I so my I mean, I literally, you know, have had a ton of negative experiences with my mental health. And a lot of it was brought on by just working myself into the ground. And that burnt out, you know, just kind of keep grinding. But I think like, I don't know, I guess it's twofold. I mean, like, the cheesy thing is, I think I just give the guy a hug, like, I think he would just kind of like need just like a good solid, like, hey, it's gonna be, it's gonna be okay. I would love just to be able to show him where we go. You know what I mean? Because I think I was just so lost in my first, my first few years that like, I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. And to see how like, fulfilled and meaningful the work that I do now is, I think he'd be really happy to see that. And I also just think, like, I would really tell him to focus on, focus on authenticity, because that's something that's really, that's kind of one of the reasons why I started the podcast was because I was tired of just like living this like character of Kyle Moore, like this, like, Oh, you know, tall, good looking sports guy, did drama and student body council and all this kind of stuff in school and like super involved in whatever, just like this, this person or this perfectionist kind of guy. And I just, like I just think I just really, I would just tell him to focus on just learning who he is. Because I think that that's tough. And so like, I think that especially when you're in university, and you're you're maybe you're out of the house for the first time you're away from your community, or whatever it might be, like there's going to be an opportunity for you really to experience who is Taylor, who is Sam, who is Elena, who is Kyle. And I think that I just didn't take that for granted. I think I was just so worried about showing people a version of what I wanted them to think that I never really got a chance to just be me. And I think that that's I think that that's what I would do is I would just be like, Hey man, here's a hug and be yourself. And I know it's gonna be really tough but just be yourself and it'll you'll get there Don't worry.
Samantha McNulty 1:17:29
I'll get first year Kyle a hug too.
Elena Hudgins Lyle 1:17:31
Aw
Kyle Moore 1:17:31
Alright. Thanks guys
Elena Hudgins Lyle 1:17:33
Very wholesome.
Samantha McNulty 1:17:40
That's it for this episode. I hope you enjoyed. If you want to check out our guests work, you can find that all in the show notes along with my recommendations of some of their newer episodes. You can follow Kyle on Insta @moorzyyy that's m o o r z triple y or Life's a Wreck @lifesawreckpodcast, you can find Elena on Twitter or Instagram @elenahasacamera and you can give Taylor a follow on Instagram or Twitter @taylorln. Or Cup of Te on Instagram @cupofteshop. That's Te spelled t e. Thanks for listening in. I'm Sam, your host and podcast producer and this was bounced. Take it easy, everyone.
Robot Voice (Closing) 1:18:30
Thank you for your cooperation