Death Before Decay

Elliot Humiston
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Business

Death Before Decay is a long-form podcast hosted by Dr. Elliot Humiston — a dentist, business owner, creative, and recovering band kid from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. This show is about confidence, craft, entrepreneurship, and building something meaningful — in dentistry, business, and life. Some episodes dive into modern dentistry, aesthetics, leadership, technology, and patient transformation. Others explore community, creativity, identity, mental health, music, business ownership, and the people building interesting things around us. Guests range from dentists and medical professionals to entrepreneurs, artists, business owners, and longtime friends with great stories to tell. The conversations are honest, relaxed, occasionally chaotic, and built around one core idea: Confidence changes people’s lives. Whether that confidence comes from rebuilding a smile, starting a business, creating art, overcoming failure, or simply figuring out who you are — this podcast is about the process of becoming something better without losing yourself along the way. New episodes feature: long-form conversationslocal and out-of-town guestssolo episodesdentistry and aestheticsentrepreneurship and brandingstories about failure, growth, and ambitionthe occasional dark joke or tangentHosted by Dr. Elliot Humiston and featuring recurring appearances from photographer and marketing creative Jon Erlien.

  1. 18h ago

    Knowing What You’re Worth

    Episode 14 — Knowing What You’re Worth Jessica Schmitt-Reynolds has spent more than 15 years building Double Vision Films with her twin sister, Lauren — but one of the hardest parts of becoming an expert is learning to recognize the value of something that comes naturally to you. In this episode, we talk about creativity, entrepreneurship, pricing, and the strange challenge of putting a dollar amount on experience, instinct, and skill. Jessica shares how she and Lauren went from making movies as kids to studying production, interning at Paramount, returning home to start their own company, and eventually building a career around commercial filmmaking, nonprofit work, and storytelling. We also get into pro bono work, why generosity can sometimes complicate business, collaborating with people who technically compete with you, being a woman in a male-dominated industry, and why the cheapest option usually isn’t the same thing as the best value. Later, the conversation turns toward family, flexibility, what “enough” looks like, and one of the most meaningful projects Jessica has ever revisited: searching old wedding footage so a bride could hear her late mother’s voice again. At the center of it all is a question a lot of creative people and entrepreneurs wrestle with: How do you learn to value what you do when the thing you’re best at feels easy to you? Death Before Decay — Episode 14: Knowing What You’re Worth. Explicit language.

  2. Oct 29

    Embracing Your True Self

    Episode 13 — Embracing Your True Self Alex Sargent and I started dental school at the same time, in the same place, and for a while our lives looked pretty similar. Then they didn’t. In this episode, we catch up on the years since dental school and talk about identity, independence, and what happens when you start figuring out who you are outside of the path you thought you were supposed to follow. Alex shares how weightlifting helped her build an identity beyond dentistry, what it was like moving away from the environment she grew up in, coming out later in life, changing relationships, going to therapy, and becoming more comfortable with the parts of herself that were probably there all along. We also get into dental school, early career decisions, sedation, imposter syndrome, creative side projects, Rate My CE, Lego, and why it matters to protect your identity in a profession that can easily consume it. This is a quieter episode of Death Before Decay — two people who started on parallel paths looking back at how differently those paths unfolded. At the center of the conversation is a simple question: How much of becoming yourself is changing — and how much is finally embracing who you already were? Death Before Decay — Episode 13: Embracing Your True Self. Explicit language.

  3. Oct 8

    Before Everything Was Recorded

    Episode 12 — Brotherhood: Before Everything is Recorded This one is a little different. I sat down with three of my oldest friends — Gavin, Spencer, and Steven — for a conversation that starts with the kind of stories you probably shouldn’t still remember this clearly and somehow ends up being about friendship, growing up, and what it takes to stay connected as your lives become completely different. We grew up together in a time before every stupid thing we did was photographed, posted, archived, and searchable forever. We played in bands, made questionable decisions, gave each other endless shit, and eventually became husbands, fathers, professionals, and very different versions of the kids we used to be. We talk about the stories that somehow survived 30 years, how friendships change when adulthood gets complicated, why staying close actually takes effort, raising kids in a completely different world than the one we grew up in, and what “brotherhood” means when the nostalgia wears off. There is absolutely some immaturity in this episode. There’s also a surprising amount of heart. Death Before Decay — Episode 12: Brotherhood. Explicit language.

  4. Sep 24

    Design the Life You Want

    Episode 11 — Design the Life You Want What does it actually look like to design your life on purpose—and what happens when you reach the end of the plan you made for yourself? Corey has spent years building businesses, coaching dental teams, studying communication, and helping leaders create healthier cultures. She also had a very specific goal for her own life: build intentionally, sell her business, and step away at 50. Then she actually did it. We talk about the identity shift that comes with leaving something you built, why even a successful transition can be psychologically difficult, and why taking a step back doesn’t mean you’ve stopped growing. The conversation also gets into personality assessments, DISC, relationships, communication, leadership, conflict, and team culture. Corey shares the personal story that first pulled her into personality assessments—and why she believes they should be used to understand people, not label them. At the center of the episode is a simple idea: you only get one life, so be deliberate about how you build it. Death Before Decay — Episode 11: Design the Life You Want. Explicit language.

  5. Sep 10

    People Before Property

    Episode 10 of Death Before Decay is live. This week I sat down with Michelle Hayward of Hearthstone Realty Group. Michelle’s career is technically real estate—but this conversation ended up being a lot more about people than property. We talked about building trust, making decisions, mentoring a team, betting on yourself, learning to delegate, and why the relationships you build along the way matter more than any single transaction. We also get into old houses, ridiculous HGTV expectations, community, social media, and what happens when your career becomes less of a job and more of a lifestyle. 🎧 Full episode is live now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. #DeathBeforeDecay #Podcast #RealEstate #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Mentorship #Community #Sheboygan

  6. Aug 27

    Own Your Glow

    Episode 9 — Own Your GlowFeaturing Mindy Kue What does it look like to stop living inside the version of yourself you think other people expect? Mindy Kue, founder of Blooming Minds Psychotherapy, joins Death Before Decay for a conversation about confidence, identity, mental health, self-expression, and learning to become comfortable in your own skin. Mindy shares how therapy, entrepreneurship, EDM culture, cosmetic procedures, and a willingness to challenge old expectations helped her become a very different person from the woman she was ten years ago. We also talk about internal versus external processing, the connection between confidence and happiness, the stigma around therapy, healthy vanity, investing in yourself, and why authenticity can sometimes be one of the most important forms of personal growth. It’s a conversation about becoming who you actually are instead of who you think you’re supposed to be. Episode 9 of Death Before Decay: Own Your Glow — featuring Mindy Kue.

  7. Aug 13

    You'll be Great by Force

    Episode 8 — You’ll Be Great by Force Dr. Justina Anigbo joins Death Before Decay for a conversation about identity, confidence, resilience, leadership, and what it means to become the person you were always capable of becoming. From navigating dental school and leadership to pushing through moments when others tried to limit her path, Justina brings an honest, funny, and deeply personal perspective on where confidence comes from—and what it costs to keep moving forward. We also talk about family expectations, culture, mentorship, representation, and the mindset behind one of the best lines of the season: “Either you’ll be great and you’ll enjoy it, or you’ll be great by force.” This is one of those conversations that starts in dentistry and quickly becomes about something much bigg

  8. Jul 30

    What If I Fail?

    Episode 7: What If I Fail?Failure isn't the opposite of success—it's part of the process. In this episode of Death Before Decay, Dr. Elliot Humiston and Jon Erlien tackle one of the biggest questions that keeps people from chasing their goals: "What if I fail?" Drawing from their own experiences in business, leadership, dentistry, photography, and life, they share the lessons they've learned from hiring mistakes, difficult conversations, career setbacks, competitive sports, and the failures that ultimately made them better leaders. The conversation explores why failure should sting—but never stop you—and why taking ownership, learning quickly, and moving forward are the traits that separate successful people from everyone else. Whether you're starting a business, leading a team, pursuing a new career, or simply trying to become a better version of yourself, this episode is a reminder that growth only happens when you're willing to risk falling short. In this episode: Why failure is a requirement for growthThe difference between healthy ambition and obsessionLeadership lessons learned the hard wayOwning your mistakes without making excusesBuilding resilience through setbacksDefining success on your own termsWhy no one is coming to save you—and why that's empoweringIf you've ever wondered whether you're ready to take the next step, this conversation might convince you that the biggest risk isn't failing—it's never trying.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Death Before Decay is a long-form podcast hosted by Dr. Elliot Humiston — a dentist, business owner, creative, and recovering band kid from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. This show is about confidence, craft, entrepreneurship, and building something meaningful — in dentistry, business, and life. Some episodes dive into modern dentistry, aesthetics, leadership, technology, and patient transformation. Others explore community, creativity, identity, mental health, music, business ownership, and the people building interesting things around us. Guests range from dentists and medical professionals to entrepreneurs, artists, business owners, and longtime friends with great stories to tell. The conversations are honest, relaxed, occasionally chaotic, and built around one core idea: Confidence changes people’s lives. Whether that confidence comes from rebuilding a smile, starting a business, creating art, overcoming failure, or simply figuring out who you are — this podcast is about the process of becoming something better without losing yourself along the way. New episodes feature: long-form conversationslocal and out-of-town guestssolo episodesdentistry and aestheticsentrepreneurship and brandingstories about failure, growth, and ambitionthe occasional dark joke or tangentHosted by Dr. Elliot Humiston and featuring recurring appearances from photographer and marketing creative Jon Erlien.

Information

  • Creator
    Elliot Humiston
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Elliot Humiston
  • Show Website
    Death Before Decay