Getting Under The Skin

Companion

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin (GUTS)! Where the stories of our lives can be medicine for each other. Where reflection and curiosity opens up paths of conversation for us to explore together. Join us for an exploration through conversation. This is an expedition, a journey in search of the stuff that makes us feel most human, the stuff that stirs your soul and reminds you of what really matters. These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours or productivity hacks. They are an antidote to superficial small talk or marketing in disguise. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived, and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way. Hosted by Topaz Adizes, Emmy Award-winning writer, director, and experience design architect exploring the transformative power of human connection. He is the founder and executive director of THE SKIN DEEP, creator of {THE AND} and author of 12QFL. If you're ready to Get Under The Skin — we’ll meet you here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Joy On Ten with Kristen V. Carter

    6 HR AGO

    Joy On Ten with Kristen V. Carter

    What happens when you've spent 20 years fighting for what's yours, and then realize that was never even the game? In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Kristen V. Carter, fifth-generation creative, executive producer, TV show runner turned educator, who hit a moment of total honesty at 38 and said something she had never said before: I am not happy. What followed was a complete reorientation, guided by one rule: if the joy isn't on 10, it's out. In this episode, we explore: - Fifth generation roots and the ancestors she carried with her - A boarding school year that nearly broke her - Fighting for your seat vs. living from joy - The joy-on-10 litmus test - Generational healing before you pass anything down Since recording, Kristen has tripled enrollment at the Hofstra LA Semester Program, now bringing 35 students to Hollywood in 2027, and is launching The Activation Collective, her 8-week professional accelerator for creatives ready to level up. Follow Kristen: https://www.instagram.com/kristenvcarter/reels/ Follow her podcast 'Trust Your Magic': https://www.instagram.com/trustyourmagic/ www.kristenvcarter.com _____________________________________________________________________ Follow GUTS: Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/ LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/ Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1hr 7min
  2. Unlocking the Healing of ALS: Facing Fear & Finding Joy with Aaron Lazar

    18 MAY

    Unlocking the Healing of ALS: Facing Fear & Finding Joy with Aaron Lazar

    What happens when the body breaks down but the spirit refuses to follow? In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Aaron Lazar, Broadway star, actor, and division one athlete, who was diagnosed with ALS and chose to face it not with force or fear, but with radical joy and presence. Through stories from his career, his recovery, and his daily 20 foot walks between a wheelchair and a chair, Aaron reveals what it really means to show up for yourself from a place of love instead of will. In this episode, we explore: - Growing up with a Jewish mother who taught him the power of a handwritten note - Navigating hundreds of rejections in Hollywood while losing his heart for the craft - What ALS forced him to confront about patterns, energy and self-abandonment - The difference between hammering through life and moving from joy - How shifting your inner state changes your physical reality - What it means to find magic in washing your own hands Listen to GUTS: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933 Follow GUTS: Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/ LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/ Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com #gutspodcast #aaronlazar #topazadizes #ALSawareness #healingjourney #mindsetshift #radicalacceptance #purposedriven #deepconversationpodcast #joyandfear #selfhealing #presenceoverperformance #Broadway #neuraldisease #unlockinghealing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1hr 10min
  3. To Feel Seen: Building Community & Finding Purpose with Sugary

    12 MAY

    To Feel Seen: Building Community & Finding Purpose with Sugary

    What happens when the person who makes everyone feel seen has never felt it himself? In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Gary Su, known as Sugary, a cultural curator who built a community of 30,000 people in New York City and nearly lost his life doing it. After a health crisis landed him in the ICU last August, Sugary had to confront the one person he had never really shown up for: himself. In this episode, we explore: - Growing up as the only child of Taiwanese immigrants - How bullying became the birthplace of a superpower - Building a city's community while practicing self-abandonment - The ICU moment that forced a hard reset - What it means to finally feel seen from the inside out - Connection, healing, and learning to receive what you give Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1hr 12min
  4. The Game of Serendipity with Lue Kraltchev

    12 MAY

    The Game of Serendipity with Lue Kraltchev

    What if the story you're telling about someone else is the wall keeping you from ever reaching them? In this episode of GUTS, Topaz Adizes sits down with Lue Kraltchev, culture strategist, polyglot, and doctoral researcher who spent 30 years in corporate hospitality studying what actually breaks people apart at work and at the table. Her answer? The narratives we carry about each other, mostly without knowing it. In this episode: The lavender moment that made her go back and get the girl she left behind Why the stories leaders tell about their people create divides no training can fix How warmth isn't something you perform, it's something you design What hospitality taught her about the biology of belonging Why AI always lands in the danger zone of storytelling Gathering people around stories of meaning Follow GUTS: Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/ LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/ Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1hr 17min
  5. Be Like the Bamboo with Iván Saldaña

    27 APR

    Be Like the Bamboo with Iván Saldaña

    What happens when the most productive thing you can do is learn to bend? In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Ivan Saldaña, PhD biologist, master distiller, and co-founder of Casa Lumbre. After years building brands at the intersection of biology, culture, and commerce, Ivan has arrived at a new chapter, one that asks him to look inward as fiercely as he has always looked outward. In this episode, we explore: - Growing up in a household where storytelling was survival - Why agaves only become extraordinary under restriction - Building brands rooted in biology, not mythology - What it means to lead a growing team through your own transformation - Moving from achievement to legacy, and learning to teach what you know Listen to GUTS: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933 Follow GUTS: Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/ LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/ Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1hr 4min
  6. Different Types of Love with Shan Boodram ​

    20 APR

    Different Types of Love with Shan Boodram ​

    What happens when you reach the top and it still doesn't feel like enough? In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Shan Boodram, board-certified sexologist, bestselling author, and one of the most recognized voices in modern intimacy. After more than a decade of building a career around human connection, Shan hit a wall, a moment of hyper-isolation that forced her to question everything she had been running toward, and whether she had actually been running away from something deeper. Through stories from her upbringing, her marriage, her creative work, and her relationship with social media, Shan opens up about the tension between needing validation and finding genuine purpose, and what it looks like to finally explore the different types of love that were missing from her life. In this episode, we explore: - Growing up with immigrant parents and professional caregivers - The sediments that shape a life - Intimacy, desire, and building a body of work - Social media, discardability, and the fear of being forgotten - Finding meaning beyond performance - What it looks like to stop running and start living Listen to GUTS: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933 Follow GUTS: Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/ LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/ Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    55 min
  7. Approve of Oneself with Mitchell Goldman

    13 APR

    Approve of Oneself with Mitchell Goldman

    What happens when you realise no one is coming to save you, and you have to face yourself? In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Mitchell Goldman to unpack the moment everything shifted. From a breaking point in front of the mirror to confronting suicidal thoughts, Mitchell shares how he stopped seeking validation and took responsibility for his own life. This conversation explores identity, self-perception, and what it really means to approve of yourself. If you’ve ever felt stuck in your own patterns or disconnected from who you are, this episode offers a direct perspective on doing the inner work and rebuilding from within. In this episode, they explore: • The mirror moment that changed everything • Suicidal thoughts and self-confrontation • Taking responsibility for your own life • Approval vs external validation • Identity and self-perception • Healing from within Listen to GUTS: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933 Follow GUTS: Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/ LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/ Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    59 min
  8. Starting From Victory With Pastor Tim Johnson

    6 APR

    Starting From Victory With Pastor Tim Johnson

    What does it mean to stop proving yourself and start living with purpose, identity, and faith? In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Pastor Timothy Johnson, a former NFL player turned pastor, to explore the shift from performance-driven success to a purpose-driven life. Through stories of football, fatherhood, and spiritual growth, Timothy unpacks how chasing validation can disconnect us from who we truly are and what it looks like to start from victory instead of striving for it. This conversation explores identity, self-worth, faith, and mindset, from navigating fatherlessness to redefining success beyond achievement. If you’ve ever felt stuck chasing goals that don’t fulfill you, this episode offers a grounded perspective on purpose, belief, and living with intention. In this episode, they explore: • Finding purpose vs chasing success • Identity and self-worth • Faith and personal growth • Growing up without a father • Control vs surrender mindset • Overcoming the need for validation Listen to GUTS: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933 Follow GUTS: Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/ LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/ Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    59 min
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About

Welcome to Getting Under The Skin (GUTS)! Where the stories of our lives can be medicine for each other. Where reflection and curiosity opens up paths of conversation for us to explore together. Join us for an exploration through conversation. This is an expedition, a journey in search of the stuff that makes us feel most human, the stuff that stirs your soul and reminds you of what really matters. These conversations are not performative interviews, book release tours or productivity hacks. They are an antidote to superficial small talk or marketing in disguise. We explore how people are formed by the lives they’ve lived, and celebrate the wisdom gained along the way. Hosted by Topaz Adizes, Emmy Award-winning writer, director, and experience design architect exploring the transformative power of human connection. He is the founder and executive director of THE SKIN DEEP, creator of {THE AND} and author of 12QFL. If you're ready to Get Under The Skin — we’ll meet you here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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