Sons & Daughters

Everyone is an offspring. Everyone has an origin, a past, a story. Before Shannon Spake was a successful sports media personality, she was the daughter of Don and Valerie. It’s the one label in which all other labels derive, and it’s the one label that will never change. Now in an introspective stage of life that has not always been easy, Shannon is on a quest to engage in deep, meaningful conversation with people whose achievements are well-documented but their origins are not. From these personal interactions Shannon hopes to discover the answer to a question that has long intrigued her – how do ordinary sons and daughters become extraordinary people?

  1. 1d ago

    HGTV's Brian Patrick Flynn on the Year He Stopped Hiding Who He Was

    Brian Patrick Flynn spent years working in TV before HGTV ever knew his name. There was a stretch when he was making $6 an hour, had his car repossessed and eventually moved back into his parents’ guest bedroom in Fort Lauderdale because he couldn’t afford rent. Meanwhile, old high school classmates were finishing grad school and years into their careers. It was a pretty humbling place to be, but it also ended up putting Brian on the path to Surprised by Design and, eventually, a 16-year run designing for HGTV, including HGTV Dream Home and Urban Oasis. On this episode of Sons & Daughters, Shannon Spake sits down with someone she actually went to high school with. They were in the same grade, grew up in the same rough corner of South Florida and went to a school where riots in the hallways and asbestos removal crews were just part of the experience. Somehow, they both found their way into careers neither of them probably could have pictured back then. Brian became one of HGTV’s most recognizable design names and founded Flynn Side Out Productions, while Shannon built her career in sports and broadcasting. Brian also talks about a part of his story he hasn’t really opened up about publicly before. He spent years hiding who he was and says he didn’t fully feel like himself until he was 27, the same year he met his now-husband, Hollis. It’s a conversation about where they came from, how they got out and all the things that happened along the way that neither of them could have seen coming. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    HGTV's Brian Patrick Flynn on the Year He Stopped Hiding Who He Was
  2. Sep 2

    Darrell Gwynn Didn't Let His Near-Death Accident Define Him

    Six months before the crash that would end his driving career, Darrell Gwynn chose a charity for his sponsor to support and personally put the decal on his race car. He had no idea that, less than a year later, that same organization would help save his life. A Top Fuel legend with 18 Top Fuel wins, 28 NHRA national event victories, nine Top Fuel records and a place among the 50 greatest drivers in NHRA history, Darrell Gwynn’s story starts long before the trophies. On this episode of Sons & Daughters, we go back to the beginning. Darrell talks about learning to drive his dad Jerry’s ill-handling dragster at just seven years old, road trips to questionable tracks across the South, and the father-son partnership that meant Jerry was there for every single one of Darrell’s runs down the quarter mile. We get into Darrell’s incredible 1990 season, which was shaping up to be his championship year, the exhibition run in England that changed everything, and the unbelievable chain of events that unfolded while Darrell was still in the hospital. But this story doesn’t end with the crash. Darrell opens up about finding a new purpose outside the driver’s seat, the second act he built for himself, and the people who helped him get there. He also shares the story behind his new photo book, Fortunate Son: My Life in Photos, releasing September 4. This is a story about drag racing, but at its heart, it’s about a father and son, an unimaginable turning point, and finding a way forward when the life you knew changes forever. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Darrell Gwynn Didn't Let His Near-Death Accident Define Him
4.9
out of 5
33 Ratings

About

Everyone is an offspring. Everyone has an origin, a past, a story. Before Shannon Spake was a successful sports media personality, she was the daughter of Don and Valerie. It’s the one label in which all other labels derive, and it’s the one label that will never change. Now in an introspective stage of life that has not always been easy, Shannon is on a quest to engage in deep, meaningful conversation with people whose achievements are well-documented but their origins are not. From these personal interactions Shannon hopes to discover the answer to a question that has long intrigued her – how do ordinary sons and daughters become extraordinary people?

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