Life Story with Noah Chrysler

Noah Chrysler

Over the course of our lives, each of us will connect with hundreds of people. It's easy to forget that every person leads a life that is just as complicated as our own. Everyone is on their own journey. On this show, I sit down with both friends and strangers and pull out those journeys, one at a time. I guide people through their LifeStory. What are your earliest memories? How did your childhood experiences shape the decisions you've made as an adult? What struggles have you dealt that are unique to you? Everyone's a lot more interesting than they think they are.

  1. 09/30/2020

    Andy from Metro on the Move

    This is Andy! I met Andy at my first job when I moved to Atlanta. Andy is awesome, and the conversations we had really helped me keep my sanity as I made the transition from college life into the actual workforce. Andy was born in Newport Beach, California. When he was very young, Andy moved with his parents to Hong Kong. As Americans, Andy and his family were extreme minorites in China. His dad was a missionary, and part of his job was to smuggle bibles into communist China. Andy remembers walking the streets of Chinese food markets when he was like 4 years old.  His family lived in a tiny apartment in a bad neighborhood. At age 7 Andy and his family moved back to the United States to Stone Mountain, GA. Once again, Andy felt like an outsider. He lived in a bad neighborhood and he remembers one day hearing his neighbor get shot dead in the driveway after a drug deal gone bad. Andy grew up in a very strict household. His favorite music was forbidden in his household, there was no cable TV, and he remembers having to do push ups and jog around the house whenever he got in trouble. Andy moved once more during middle school to North GA. Once more, he was an outsider. After growing up near Atlanta, Andy was perceived as a “city kid.” He sold candy in school to make money, which eventually evolved into beer + cigarettes. Andy got heavily involved in his school’s art program and won several art scholarships, eventually deciding to attend Kennesaw State University. In 1996 Andy formed his band The Superbz. They won the town’s battle of the bands competition and began to play in local clubs. They put out a few original albums and began to receive local and national recognition. Andy remembers opening up for some of his favorite groups, Bad Religion, Unwritten Law, AFI, Less Than Jake, Undead, Link 80. Andy moved to Hollywood and began working with Capitol Records, before ultimately deciding to quit the band and focus on school & his career. A few years ago Andy remembers hanging out with a close friend one evening, when his friend’s face went limp and he bagan gasping for air. Andy administered CPR, and watched his friend pass away in front of him, just as paramedics arrived. That event changed Andy’s life forever. Realizing that his friend’s death was connected to his lifestyle, and that he was also out of shape, Andy quit singing in bars and going out drinking. He also quit painting, and instead wanted to take a new path in life. After returning to Hong Kong and hiking Lion Rock, Andy decided to change his lifestyle and create his online persona, Metro On The Move. He lives in the metro city of Atlanta, but each weekend he goes out and explores Georiga’s hiking trails. When I met Andy, we connected over YouTube. I (somewhat rudely) gave him a giant list of ideas of ways he could improve his channel. After implementing a fdw of the changes, Andy began to see his channel grow. Today he has over 1100 subscribers and over 160,000 views. Andy says his greatest strength in life is that he’s able to see past the immediate moment and focus on the bigger picture. His advice to me and my audience is to “be kind to your future self.” Don’t make reckless decisions today that you’re going to have to pay for 10 years from now. Andy is awesome. Go check out his YouTube channel.

  2. 09/23/2020

    LifeStory with Meredith: ASL Preschool Teacher

    This is Meredith! I met Meredith in college when we starred in an experimental student film together. We played a 1950’s married couple. It was a very weird film. Meredith was born and raised in Kenesaw, GA. Meredith recently contacted her elementary school to receive her report cards from when she was a kid. Her teachers wrote that she was “very sweet, but distracted” as a kid. Meredith went to a christain prep school until she was in the 8th grade. She remembers her home life being very conservative, and she was always jealous of her friends that seemed to have tight-knit families. Meredith says she often felt like “the weird girl” and that she always wanted to be popular. As a kid she would play soccer, do theater, sing, and dance. In middle school Meredith remembers writing a boy a poem and putting it in his locker. When she returned the next day there was a group crowded around the locker taking turns reading her poem and laughing. She didn’t love that. Meredith was always friends with people older than her. When those friends went off to college, Meredith remembers feeling like an outcast. When Meredith entered highschool she experienced severe culture shock going from private school to public school. She absolutely loved being apart of color guard. Meredith remembers being in a relationship so toxic that she wasn’t allowed to say the word “sneakers.” Meredith took ASL in highschool. Her background in acting and theater made her a natural at ASL, which ultimately led her to go to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at RIT. While she was at RIT, Meredith began to reassess her values. She discovered that a lot of what she thought and believed was a product of her upbringing. For the first time Meredith began to decide her own values. Currently Meredith lives in Kennesaw, GA and teaches preschool online for deaf children. We talked a lot about the unique challenges that come with that role. Meredith’s final piece of advice was to “stop apologizing. Stop shrinking yourself to fit the mold of somebody else.” It was great sitting down with her.

  3. 09/17/2020

    LifeStory with Fred: EMT Content Creator

    This is Fred! Fred is an EMT and content creator working in Atlanta. In elementary school, Fred remembers getting called out and yelled at by a teacher for not knowing the answer to a question. He remembers being kind of a shy kid. Later, Fred remembers writing a valentines day card to his teacher where he called her out for being super mean. In middle school Fred moved from the suburbs to the city of Atlanta. He lived on the East side. He learned very quickly that this place was very different than where he grew up. He got into his first fight in 2nd grade. Later, on his way home from school, Fred remembers seeing two elementary school kids getting beaten up in the street by highschoolers. Teachers and onlookers just watched out of fear of retaliation for getting involved. In highschool Fred joined the football and baseball teams, which helped him make friends and meet girls. He also did drama, and remembers a particular time when he was supposed to kiss a girl in a play. Instead opted to give her a hug, which made her really disappointed. Around this time Fred got in a fight with the biggest kid on the football team. Even though he didn’t start the fight, he almost didn’t get to walk at graduation. After highschool Fred attended EMT school. He didn’t want to go to college and instead wanted to start his career as soon as possible. He was the youngest person in his EMT class. After becoming an EMT, Fred has focused on traveling the world and creating content for Instagram. He recently went to japan. He also shares a ton of intense stories from his career as an EMT. It was great talking to Fred and hearing his perspective.

  4. 09/03/2020

    LifeStory with Steve Gatt: Lifelong Entrepreneur

    This is Steve Gatt! I met Steve after I moved to Atlanta when we both took the same improv class. Steve quickly became one of my closest friends here and has given me a lot of support and advice. I sat down with Steve on the latest episode of my podcast, LifeStory. Steve was born and raised in San José, California. As a kid, Steve would repair old junk cars with his dad. Steve was always rolling up to school in a newly refurbished beater that him and his dad threw together. In his early years, Steve had a bunch of odd jobs. Once he worked at Six Flags and got fired 10 days in for being too nice to a customer. Later, Steve worked for his dad and helped him renovate houses. Steve’s dad was so busy as an entrepreneur that these renovations were partially used as an excuse to connect with the family. Steve worked for Home Depot back when the company was rapidly growing. There were virtually no safety regulations, and Steve fondly remembers climbing to the tops of storage racks without so much as a harness. Steve quickly ascended the ranks at Home Depot. His mentality was to learn as much as possible about every role in the company so that he would never get bored. Because of this, Steve was indispensable. Steve moved to multiple different cities around the US and took many career turns. In Dallas, Steve was first exposed to gay culture and gay bars. After lots of partying, Steve realized he was gay. Eventually Steve was promoted to head of the paint department. He got the opportunity to basically run his own business, managing his own team, and making purchasing decisions, all while working for Home Depot. Steve transitioned into IT and working with computers, and eventually met his first mentor who gave him his first laptop and helped him get his first job. Steve met his partner Jimmy in an online chatroom. They dated for multiple years, and eventually wanted to adopt a son. Steve tells the story of having to find an adoption agency who would cater to gay couples, filling out mountains of paperwork, and then travelling to the Ukraine to adopt their son. Currently Steve lives in Atlanta and runs a security camera installation company. Steve has been a great friend and mentor since I’ve moved here. He’s taught me a lot about the practical side of entrepreneurship, and he’s even helped me produce this show. The first half of his LifeStory interview drops today. Check it out!

  5. 08/28/2020

    LifeStory with Jessica Giles: How to stay positive in the face of adversity

    This is Jess. Jess works with me on my team at Modern Estate Planning. Jess’s story is about persevering and remaining positive in the face of difficulty. As a kid Jess remembers being a protective big sister over her younger brothers. She was great at basketball and had a passion for music. In highschool Jess became the drum major of her school’s band. Jess’s first romantic relationship ended with her boyfriend landing in jail at the age of 16 for being an accessory to murder. Despite the heartbreak, in her junior year Jess was voted Junior Homecoming Queen. Jess graduated highschool with an outstanding academic record. She went to a HBCU and quickly made friends through the marching band. Jess’s college career took an unexpected turn however when she became pregnant at the age of 18. Five months into her pregnancy she told her parents, with the help of her church pastor. Jess left college and started working to support her new daughter. She was adamant to learn every skill she could on the job so she could pick up as many shifts as possible. Jess recounts a difficult story of how she was abducted and raped on her way home from work late one night. Shortly after that experience Jess began dating her future husband. They had two awesome kids together, but ultimately decided to get divorced. Instead of hiring a divorce lawyer and entering into a custody battle, Jess filed the divorce paperwork herself. Despite all of the adversity she’s experienced, Jess’s main piece of advice for others is to just remain positive. That’s why I think Jess is a huge badass. This episode of LifeStory With Noah Chrysler is sponsored by Modern Estate Planning by Scriber Law Group, LLC. If you live in the Atlanta area and don’t have an estate plan, or you have estate planning questions, give us a call at: 404-620-3793. Right now we're offering listeners of the Lifestory podcast free Estate Planning consultation strategy sessions. Just give us a call. Find us on the web at www.ModernEstatePlanning.com

  6. 08/20/2020

    LifeStory with Aidan: Meaning of a Straight Edge Lifestyle

    This is one of my best friends Aidan Procopio. Aidain’s life story is about critical analysis, learning from mistakes, and authenticity. As a kid, Aidan was born with severe allergies that drastically affected his life from day one. Both Aidan and his brother Spencer were raised by two loving parents. He grew up with a big Italian family. Aidan attended Faith Heritage middle school, which introduced religion as a big part of his life.  Among other things, Aidan remembers loving Star Wars, reading tons of books, and being super into World War II. As Aidan entered public school for the first time, he experienced a huge culture shock. He found a love for linguistics, spent a lot of time doing improv, and gradually lost his religious faith. In college Aidan had a massive group of “straight edge” friends, and eventually joined a college improv group called No Laugh Track Required.  Aidan learned Russain, explored potentially becoming a police officer, and gradually became less and less “straight edge” by periodically experimenting with drugs and alcohol.  Towards the end of college, Aidan was diagnosed with type I diabetes. On track to become a teacher, Aidan found himself student-teaching, and realized very quickly that it was not the right career for him. Aidan talks about how the stress of that situation led to him planning his own suicide, which ultimately led to him seeking mental health counseling.  With a new focus on self-care, Aidan now regularly practices meditation. He hopes to one day earn his doctorate in sociology or linguistics and become a published author. ___________ This episode of LifeStory With Noah Chrysler is sponsored by Modern Estate Planning by Scriber Law Group, LLC. If you live in the Atlanta area and don’t have an estate plan, or you have estate planning questions, give us a call at: 404-620-3793. Right now we're offering listeners of the Lifestory podcast free Estate Planning consultation strategy sessions. Just give us a call. Find us on the web at www.ModernEstatePlanning.com.

  7. 08/12/2020

    LifeStory with Stephen Scriber: The Importance of Being Authentic

    This is Stephen Scriber, my boss, mentor, and friend. Stephen is one of the smartest and most humble people I’ve ever met. The first time I walked into his office and met Stephen, I immediately knew I wanted to work for him. Stephen wanted to build something massive that actually helped people and changed their lives for the better. I wanted to be apart of that and help that vision come to life. Stephen talks about growing up in a military family and moving around a lot as a kid. He talks about how he always loved learning and how school came early. Stephen talks about discovering his sexuality and how that impacted his own self image. While he was studying abroad in South Africa, Stephen realized that he could reinvent himself as an openly gay man, and proceeded to bring that out confidence back with him to the US. He talks about deciding to become a lawyer and the long journey he’s taken to currently owning and operating Modern Estate Planning. Stephen’s story is about self discovery, courage, and authenticity. Stephen is awesome. Together, it’s my hope that we can build a massive business, and help a lot of people. ___________ This episode of LifeStory With Noah Chrysler is sponsored by Modern Estate Planning by Scriber Law Group, LLC. If you live in the Atlanta area and don’t have an estate plan, or you have estate planning questions, give us a call at: 404-620-3793. Right now we're offering listeners of the Lifestory podcast free Estate Planning consultation strategy sessions. Just give us a call. Find us on the web at www.ModernEstatePlanning.com.

About

Over the course of our lives, each of us will connect with hundreds of people. It's easy to forget that every person leads a life that is just as complicated as our own. Everyone is on their own journey. On this show, I sit down with both friends and strangers and pull out those journeys, one at a time. I guide people through their LifeStory. What are your earliest memories? How did your childhood experiences shape the decisions you've made as an adult? What struggles have you dealt that are unique to you? Everyone's a lot more interesting than they think they are.