Their Life Story Robin Lavigne

With a dozen album's to his name and a new one coming one coming out soon Mark has been the foundation for music in the Bulkley Valley and beyond for decades. He sings and tours with extremely talented musicians and many of his songs have become anthems of the North. Every spring I get his "Springtime" stuck in my head and during a long, tough winter I think of "this is gonna be my year" to help get me through. Mark's music is fun, uplifting and relatable with some more sobering songs mixed in. He tells stories about the north and clearly loves where he's from. In this interview we talk about his songs, his experiences on the road, qualities that shaped him and the process of his songwriting.

Mike Medicoff and Danien Vince are Cofounders of Change Toothpaste. Change is a a sustainable toothpaste company which comes in tablet form in a compostable bag, eliminating the need for a tube that you throw away. This was a fun conversation and I got to learn a lot about what goes into to starting a business and how careful planning can create a smoothly running business and avoid unnecessary stress.  The pair met playing poker over a decade ago and were inspired by their children for the idea of toothpaste tablets.

Alex Haro is the editor of The Inertia, an online surf and outdoor magazine. He made the transition to writer and later editor after spending years forest fire fighting and being an arborist. Originally form Vancouver Island, he took an internship with Surfer magazine which meant living in his Van in California for four months. He later built a cabin on his aunts property which burnt down just as he was nearly done building it in a massive California wildfire. Now he's back on Vancouver Island working for the Inertia from home nearly ten years after his writing career began.

Zack Shoom is an Environmental Activist and Founder of Obabika. A Non Profit Environmental Conservation Organization based in Vancouver B.C.  Zack has dedicated his life to protecting the planet with a special dedication towards Salmon and Whales. Zack was working as a manager of Environmental Activism for Patagonia before starting his own business. In this episode Zack shares stories from time he's spent outdoors, people he's met along the way and the first major impact he had on conserving his surroundings.

Captain Paul Watson is most commonly known as the Founder of Sea Shepherd, an anti-poaching organization that uses direct action to fight for marine protection. Paul is also the author or numerous books, a poet, a world traveler, a father and a husband. In this episode we talk about: his upbringing, having to drop out of school as a young boy to help raise his younger siblings and running away from homes a teenager. We talk about some of the unique situations he's found himself in-like almost having a harpooned whale fall on his boat, travelling around the world without any papers and walking up to the owner of a Spanish whaling fleet and telling him "I sank half your fleet, you son of a bitch". Paul has had an exceptional life as he follows his commitment to protect the ocean and it's creatures, he's started a movement, amassed a fleet of ships and garnered support from the public and Celebrities. 

My guest this week is filmmaker, writer, content creator and environmental activist Elena Jean. Elena is currently co-producing and directing "Coextinction", a documentary film about the declining Southern resident Killer Whale population in The Pacific Northwest. I talked with her about how she ended up working on this project, where it's taken her, the environmental challenges Killer Whales face and what we can do to help. We also talk about working all over Africa taking pictures, getting to meet amazing people along her journey and how to fulfill your dreams- even if you have no idea what you're doing.