Why Not Us

Dillon Phaneuf / Jamie Paton
  • 4.9 (7)
  • SELF-IMPROVEMENT
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

"Why Not Us?" is a podcast hosted by Dillon Phaneuf that dives into honest conversations about overcoming fear, self-doubt, and life's challenges. Through personal stories and spiritual insights, we explore how to embrace growth, faith, and the belief that we all have the potential to do great things. If you've ever asked yourself, "Why not me?", this podcast is for you. Tune in for honest, uplifting episodes that inspire you to take charge of your journey and reach your highest potential.

  1. FEB 13

    Episode 42: Mixing Friendship & Business - Tyler Toth

    When Change Doesn’t Mean Conflict This episode isn’t about business details. It’s about maturity. For the first time publicly, Tyler and I sit down and talk about my exit from the gym and Trademark, not to explain timelines or unpack private conversations, but to model something rare in today’s culture: unity after transition. The internet loves collapse stories. It wants fallout, betrayal arcs, sides to choose, and villains to blame. Real life is quieter than that. More nuanced. Often healthier than social media can tolerate. This conversation is about friendship that outlives structure. About hard conversations that happen privately. About growth that doesn’t require spectacle. And about what it looks like for two men to move in different directions without fracturing respect. We also talk about fatherhood, the recent renovation at the gym, Tyler’s renewed focus on bodybuilding, and how seasons of life reorder priorities without erasing identity. This is not a drama episode.  It’s a leadership episode. In this episode, we discuss: Why not every transition needs a public explanationFriendship that isn’t dependent on proximity or business alignmentThe difference between transparency and oversharingHow fatherhood reshapes ambition and riskProtecting peace in a culture that thrives on reactionRenovation as recommitment to culture and communityTraining seasons and recalibrating identityWhy restraint is sometimes the strongest statementCore takeaway: Not everything that ends is broken. Sometimes change is simply growth in different directions. If you’ve ever navigated a business shift, partnership transition, or friendship evolution… If you’ve felt pressure to perform conflict for the internet… If you value maturity over narrative… This episode shows what unity actually looks like when no one is trying to win. Peace doesn’t need applause.

    51 min

  2. FEB 10

    Episode 41: My Personal Blind Spots

    This episode is one of the most personal and confrontational conversations on Why Not Us to date, not aimed outward, but inward. Rather than offering motivation or encouragement, this episode is about refinement. About allowing blind spots to be named without turning them into shame. About understanding how past wounds, gifting, ambition, and success can quietly distort calling if they aren’t continually surrendered. This conversation explores the tension between obedience and control, anointing and intensity, leadership and ego. It addresses the subtle ways shame disguises itself as motivation, how discernment can harden into suspicion, and why legacy can become an idol if it isn’t anchored in lordship. This is not an episode about self-improvement.  It’s about self-examination. In this episode, we unpack: Why obedience can still hide a need for controlHow intensity is often mistaken for anointingThe danger of using ministry, success, or productivity to self-soothe shameWhen compassion turns into a savior complexDiscernment versus fear-based suspicionThe difference between legacy and lordshipMoney as emotional security rather than stewardshipHow spiritual growth can quietly produce prideWhy slowness is required for real shepherdingThe responsibility to only teach what you’re actively obeyingCore theme: Growth isn’t about becoming louder, faster, or more impressive. It’s about becoming cleaner, humbler, and more obedient. This episode is for anyone who feels called, gifted, or driven, but knows that calling without refinement eventually becomes dangerous. It’s an invitation to let God sharpen what He’s already entrusted to you, not to shame you, but to prepare you. Sometimes the most loving thing God does isn’t encouragement. It’s exposure, followed by grace.

    1h 5m

  3. JAN 30

    Episode 40: Responsibility, Fatherhood, and Leadership - Cody Gonek

    In this episode of Why Not Us, I sit down with Cody Gonek for a grounded, honest conversation about what it actually means to build something real. Not just a business, but a life that carries weight, responsibility, and long-term vision. Cody is in the middle of opening a new gym, raising a family, and stepping deeper into leadership. This conversation explores the internal shift that happens when people begin depending on you, when decisions affect more than just yourself, and when discipline alone isn’t enough to answer the deeper questions. We talk about fatherhood as a mirror that reshapes identity and redefines success. We explore the role of fitness as integrity rather than aesthetics, and why physical discipline often becomes an anchor during seasons of pressure. We also touch on faith and meaning gently and honestly, without forcing conclusions, but naming the questions that surface when responsibility increases. This is a conversation about stewardship, not hype. About leadership without bravado. And about building spaces, families, and communities that last longer than motivation. In this episode, we discuss: The internal weight that comes with ownership and leadershipHow fatherhood changes the way men define successFitness as discipline, grounding, and personal integrityAsking deeper questions when momentum fadesModern masculinity and the confusion many men are carryingWhy gyms and community spaces matter beyond moneyLeadership as stewardship, not statusCore theme: Building something real always costs more than you expect, but it shapes you into someone worth becoming. If you’re carrying responsibility quietly… If you’re building while still figuring yourself out… If you’re trying to lead without hardening or burning out… This episode is for you. Why Not Us is about asking better questions while you build, not waiting until life forces them on you.

    46 min

  4. JAN 12

    Episode 39: Raebolic Part 2, An update on her Journey

    Rae returns to Why Not Us for a very different conversation. In her first episode, we discussed the moment her life split into a before and an after, encountering God in the midst of trauma, surrendering in the dark, and finding peace that didn’t make sense. This episode picks up where most stories end: the long middle. This conversation examines what happens after the miracle fades and real life resumes. The emotional highs don’t stay high. The guilt of not always “feeling” God. The quiet work of learning how to walk with Him through recovery, pain, and uncertainty. This isn’t a sequel. It’s maturation. In this episode, we discuss: The emotional rollercoaster that follows powerful spiritual encountersFaith, when the intensity wears off, and life becomes demandingReturning to church after trauma and the vulnerability of being seenLong-term hospital life and what it reveals about purpose and callingPain management, medication, and advocating for your own bodyMoving from adrenaline-driven faith to daily obediencePreparing mentally and spiritually for life after the hospitalWhy healing was never meant to be done aloneKey theme: Faith is not constant intensity; it’s a covenant. The miracle isn’t just surviving. The miracle is learning how to live afterward. Scripture referenced: Psalm 34:18Isaiah 43:2Philippians 1:62 Corinthians 12:9If you’ve ever felt confused after a spiritual high. If you’ve wondered why faith feels quieter after the miracle. If you’re walking through the long middle and trying to stay grounded. This episode is for you. Sometimes God meets us in the dark Sometimes, He teaches us in the quiet that follows

    1h 8m

  5. 2025-12-27

    Epsiode 38 - The Man Behind the Camera: Sean Chai

    This episode is a different kind of conversation. Dillon sits down with Sean Chai, the producer who’s been behind the camera since the early days of Why Not Us. Not to spotlight him as a creator, but to acknowledge the role of those who quietly watch, build, and discern before stepping forward. Together, they talk honestly about vision, craft, fitness, discipline, fear, timing, and what it actually means to build something meaningful in a culture obsessed with speed and short-term validation. The conversation explores the tension many people feel in their late 20s and 30s: knowing there’s more inside of them, but hesitating to choose a direction too early or attach themselves to the wrong thing. This episode isn’t about announcements or hype. It’s about alignment. About the difference between content and craft. About waiting for gravity instead of rushing for attention. And about what happens when two visions begin to overlap, not in competition, but in complement. In this episode, we discuss: What you learn about people by spending years behind the lensFitness as discipline, stewardship, and mental clarityThe question “What would you do if you couldn’t fail?” and why it mattersVision without structure vs. vision with weightFear, timing, and the cost of staying safe for too longChoosing long-term craft over fast, disposable contentBuilding something that lasts instead of staying busyKey reflection: Sometimes the people behind the camera are the ones carrying the future of the vision. If you’ve ever felt stuck between preparation and action, or unsure when it’s time to step forward, this episode will resonate deeply.

    1h 11m

  6. 2025-12-21

    Episode 37 - A Son of Canada: Why I’m Done Settling (A Year in Review + 10 Lessons)

    This episode marks a turning point. In a rare solo conversation, Dillon walks listeners through a full year of refinement, obedience, and spiritual realignment. Two prophetic words spoken over his life, one years ago and one a year prior, are revisited and weighed against the evidence of the last twelve months: the cost, the pruning, the clarity, and the fruit. This is not a testimony episode meant to inspire emotion. It’s a public act of stewardship. Dillon reflects on identity, sonship, discouragement, fatherhood, and the danger of settling just as momentum begins to build. He speaks candidly about the temptation to leave Canada in search of bigger platforms, and why the calling to stay rooted became unmistakable. The episode also outlines a clear pivot for the podcast, expanding into culture, health, leadership, masculinity, and real life without losing spiritual authority or conviction. In this episode, you’ll hear about: The difference between calling as fantasy and calling as responsibilityWhy sonship must come before stewardshipHow discouragement often disguises itself as wisdom or realismThe cost of the last year, and the fruit it producedWhy rootedness matters more than reachThe internal and external shifts shaping the future of the podcastTen hard-earned lessons from 2025 that now function as doctrine, not theoryKey truth from the episode: Calling isn’t proven by ambition. It’s proven by obedience under pressure. This is a year-in-review episode, a public pivot, and a line drawn in the sand. Not about performance. About alignment.

    41 min

  7. 2025-12-05

    Episode 36 - The Lord’s Prayer: How Jesus Taught Us to Pray

    This episode is different from our usual format. Today, Pastor Jamie leads a comprehensive teaching on The Lord’s Prayer, breaking down the prayer Jesus gave to His disciples and showing us how it serves as a model for every believer to build a genuine prayer life. Off-the-cuff and straight from Jamie’s heart, this message walks through each line of the Lord’s Prayer and reveals what it means for your daily walk: how to approach God as Father, how to align your will with His, how to ask for provision, how to fight temptation, and how to stay anchored in forgiveness. More than a sermon, this is a practical framework, a way to pray when you don’t know what to say, a structure for strengthening your spiritual life, and a reminder that prayer is not performance… It’s a relationship. In this episode: Why Jesus gave us a model, not just words to repeatHow to begin prayer with identity and honourWhat it means to pray “Your will be done”Understanding spiritual dependency and daily provisionThe link between forgiveness, freedom, and answered prayerHow prayer strengthens your spirit in moments of temptationBuilding a consistent, healthy prayer lifeQuote to remember: “Prayer is not about trying to get God’s attention; it’s about returning your heart to where it belongs.” If you’ve been struggling to pray or are unsure where to start, this episode will provide you with the clarity and confidence to develop a prayer life that truly sustains you.

    1h 8m

  8. 2025-11-28

    Episode 35 - How God Can Move In Crisis W / Raebolic

    “Rae: The Day Everything Changed, and the God Who Met Her There” This episode is different. It’s not a story about an accident, it’s a story about a God who shows up in the moments we can’t remember but somehow still know. Rae sits down with Dillon to share what happened on October 29, the day she lost both of her legs… and found a presence that changed everything. She talks about the blackout she doesn’t remember but could feel, the calm that made no logical sense, and the moment on November 1 when she surrendered her life to Jesus without ever having been raised in faith. This is the first time Rae has ever told her story publicly. It’s raw, emotional, honest, and holy. Not a survival story, a rebirth story. In this episode, you’ll hear: How God was drawing Rae long before the accidentWhat it felt like to “sense Jesus” in the blackoutThe moment she realized her legs were gone, and why peace was her first reactionThe surrender moment that changed her identity foreverHow she’s rebuilding her future with purpose, gratitude, and fireQuote to remember: “I don’t remember the accident. But I remember the presence.” If you’ve ever questioned where God is in suffering, this conversation will show you what it looks like when He’s closer than breath, even when memory fails.

    47 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

"Why Not Us?" is a podcast hosted by Dillon Phaneuf that dives into honest conversations about overcoming fear, self-doubt, and life's challenges. Through personal stories and spiritual insights, we explore how to embrace growth, faith, and the belief that we all have the potential to do great things. If you've ever asked yourself, "Why not me?", this podcast is for you. Tune in for honest, uplifting episodes that inspire you to take charge of your journey and reach your highest potential.

Information

  • Creator
    Dillon Phaneuf / Jamie Paton
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Why Not Us
  • Show Website
    Why Not Us