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. Resist Much, Obey Little with Joseph Gerstandt

    22 Jun

    Resist Much, Obey Little with Joseph Gerstandt

    What does it cost to spend a lifetime doing what you believe in, while the world decides whether it agrees? In this episode of GUTS, we sit down with Joseph Gerstandt, Desert Storm veteran, poet, and one of America's most trusted voices on diversity and inclusion, who grew up on a farm in Iowa convinced that emotions were a distraction. He spent years in corporate America lying awake at night dreading work, certain the problem was him. It wasn't. In this episode: - Growing up stoic on a farm and spending decades emotionally behind the curve - How working in HIV prevention cracked his world open and changed everything - What it's like being a white man doing DEI work for 18 years as the field gets politicized - Why he believes the world needs better questions more than better answers - The quiet admission that he still struggles to feel worthy of love Welcome to Getting Under The Skin, where genuine curiosity guides honest, human to human exchanges about how we are shaped by the lives we've lived. 🎙️ Resist Much, Obey Little with Joseph Gerstandt, out now on GUTS: Getting Under the Skin. Listen now: 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    59 min
  2. Show Up and Show Out with Jess Russ

    15 Jun

    Show Up and Show Out with Jess Russ

    What happens when you win the thing you've been working toward your whole life and it terrifies you? In this episode of GUTS, we sit down with Jess Russ, Grammy award-winning songwriter, creative, and athlete, who grew up in Alabama with Goodwill clothes and $5 to everyone else's hundred. She learned early how to show up and show out. But at 27, she's asking a harder question: what happens when showing up starts to cost you everything?In this episode: - Growing up Black in the South, showing up in rooms she was never handed access to - How winning a Grammy at 27 became a double-edged sword - Why her biggest failures have been relational, not professional - The fear of being considered but never chosen - What it really means to give yourself permission before anyone else does 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1hr 4min
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. What to Do With What You Have with Susan Asiyanbi

    30 Mar

    What to Do With What You Have with Susan Asiyanbi

    What does it really mean to show up for others and why do we struggle to do it consistently? In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Susan Asiyanbi, a leader working at the intersection of relationships, culture, and organizational change. Susan reflects on how her parents’ values shaped her understanding of service, community, and the belief that every day offers a chance to try again. Through stories of grief, friendship, and personal evolution, Susan challenges the idea that we are “good friends” by default. She explores the gap between how we see ourselves and how we actually show up, the tension between independence and community, and why relationships require more honesty than we’re comfortable with. From navigating loss to redefining what it means to give without expectation, this conversation exposes the complexity of connection. Together, they explore: • Why we’re not always the friends we think we are • The difference between giving freely and giving with expectation • How grief shifts perspective and what actually matters • Why asking for help is uncomfortable but necessary • The tension between independence and needing a village • What it means to be complete but not resolved Listen 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 9min
  6. Good Conversations: The Art of Connection with Emma Templeton

    9 Mar

    Good Conversations: The Art of Connection with Emma Templeton

    What makes a conversation truly good and why are those moments of connection so rare? In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Emma Templeton, social psychologist and researcher studying the science of human connection. Emma explores what happens in the precise moments when conversation clicks and why some interactions leave us feeling deeply understood while others fade away. Through her research on real, unscripted dialogue, Emma reflects on the invisible forces shaping how we connect and why meaningful conversation may be one of the most powerful tools we have. Together, they explore: • Why we dread social interactions we end up loving • What makes conversations feel meaningful • The science of conversational chemistry • Why social scripts limit deeper connection • The value of long, undistracted conversations • Communicating complex ideas simply _____________________________________________________________________ Listen 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 10min
  7. Explore with Curiosity | Bryce Hoffman

    23 Feb

    Explore with Curiosity | Bryce Hoffman

    What happens when the questions that once got you arrested become the foundation of your life's work? In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Bryce Hoffman, bestselling author and the only civilian ever to complete the U.S. Army's Red Team Leader Program. As founder of Red Team Thinking, he helps organizations like Google, Salesforce, and the U.S. Marine Corps challenge assumptions and make sharper decisions. Together, they explore: - How radical idealism evolves into disciplined critical thinking - Why ego is the enemy of great leadership - Failure as a feature, not a flaw - What it really means to stop pushing the river This conversation is about learning to ask the tough questions, and having the courage to listen to the answers. _____________________________________________________________________ Listen GUTS: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeUPrK1EksczxTm35F_GeUA 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 14min
  8. Creating Safe Spaces with Michele Lamoureux

    16 Feb

    Creating Safe Spaces with Michele Lamoureux

    What happens when the parts of you that were silenced begin to speak again? In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with award-winning podcaster, empowerment coach, and author Michelle Lamoureux, creator of The Good Life podcast and author of Design a Life You Love. Michelle reflects on the formative experiences that shaped her: being “othered” as a child, surviving a near abduction, and wearing a scoliosis brace for six years — and how those moments cultivated empathy, resilience, and a drive to create safe spaces for women to reclaim their voice. Together, they explore: • Reclaiming your voice after silence • How early experiences shape identity and empathy • Success as the courage to try • Motherhood, safety, and raising a daughter with agency • Designing a life with intention This conversation examines what it means to design a life with intention, expand beyond inherited limitations, and stay human in an increasingly AI-driven world. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Listen 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 11min
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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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