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Jesse Singh

Creating Consciousness

A Spirituality and Religion & Spirituality podcast

#177 in Spirituality · 🇨🇦
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About the show

What's up, beautiful people. I'm Jesse Singh — comedian, 12-year youth worker, and your host of Creating Consciousness. This is the show where me and my co-host Danté Williams push back on the easy answers the wellness industry sells us, dig into what mental health and creativity actually look like for working artists, and bring on comedians, musicians, and creators across the city to talk about the real journey — the bombing, the breakthroughs, the breakdowns, and what's saved us. New episodes weekly. Peace and love, y'all.

Newest episodes

28 Days In India Taught Me Who I’m Not| Hershawn Arora Ep.19

1 hr 23 min

Hershawn Arora came through to Creating Consciousness and we got into everything His first real trip to India as an adult, 28 days from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, the moment he realized he was a visitor and not a local, the kid who tried to hustle him for money. We talked about his first set at Seeps in London Ontario, writing dark Eminem-influenced lyrics in grade four, dropping Hopeless Romantic in 2021, and why he eventually chose comedy over rap “if you’re not putting the work in, someone else is.” Plus the moment he first said “I’m a comedian” out loud in front of his dad, Andrew Schulz as the guy who built the business model all of us are using, and why going four days without a set makes him feel like a crackhead. Catch Hershawn on IG  @rapsandlaughs  and come see him Nov 13 at The Mint in Victoria BC. Peace and love, y’all.TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro — Victoria BC run and new comedy clubs2:30 Indians are homophobic but hold pinkies — India trip debrief5:00 Kashmir to Kanyakumari in 28 days7:00 Feeling like a visitor and seeing where my parents came from12:30 The slower-pace life question and the rat in the sweat lodge17:00 The disparity, the guilt, and the "tell me I'm Indian" story24:00 Diwali fireworks, kite wars, and section 30 Chandigarh28:30 Would I ever perform comedy in India? What Nitish told me33:00 First stand-up set in London Ontario at Seeps36:00 From Grade 4 Eminem lyrics to Hopeless Romantic38:00 Why I chose comedy over rap — "if you're not working, someone is"44:00 Comedy as catharsis vs music as vulnerability49:30 The dark side of needing stage time — "chasing the dragon"54:00 Russell Peters, Andrew Schulz and the business model shift1:06:00 Saying "I'm a comedian" out loud and the parent reaction1:13:00 Levels To MeConnect with Hershawn: IG @rapsandlaughs, TikTok @rapsandlaughs, YouTube @rapsandlaughs. Live: Nov 13 at The Mint, Victoria BC.Connect with the show: @CreatingConsciousness905Jesse: @PunjabiTimbitProduced by Person1 Productions — @ChezDant...

Why Wearing Black Culture As A Costume Isn’t The Same As Appreciating It | Marlon Palmer | EP.18

1 hr 26 min

Marlon Palmer @ThatdudeMCFLY pulled up to Creating Consciousness and we got into everything. How he quit his dishwashing job mid-shift to make YouTube videos just to pay rent, the behind-the-scenes of Office Movers and why he refused to be in “the pantheon of bad Patois speakers on TV" the difference between appropriating a culture and celebrating one, the Shane Gillis gym bit, cancel culture making the loudest voices louder, and why he still thinks comedy is really just a magic trick. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro 2:15 Quitting the dishwasher job to make YouTube videos 7:30 Behind the scenes of Office Movers and keeping Patois real 10:30 The YouTube era vs the calculated content era 17:00 Why you shouldn't start stand-up if nobody's told you to 21:00 Bombing on MTV, Harbor Front, and the Metro Convention Center 30:00 Taking 6 years off after that bomb 33:00 The West Indies vs Africa redemption show 38:00 Comedy as a magic trick (why Marlon laughs on stage) 42:00 Leaving home at 19 and 2 years of couch surfing 49:00 Toronto as the smallest big city and why it's forged by fire 53:30 Appropriation vs appreciation and the costume question 1:02:30 Why cancel culture made the loudest voices louder #creatingconsiousness #toronto #podcast

When You Know The Spiritual Lessons But Still Feel Apathy| EP.17

1 hr 14 min

We got into the thing I've been dealing with lately. That gap between knowing all the spiritual lessons and still feeling apathetic about how to actually move forward. Back in the dolo chair this week with my co-host Danté, first solo episode in a minute. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Tim Hortons Discontinued The Donut Flavors 3:00 Consistency Beats Intensity Every Time 7:00 Meeting Kevin Hart And Russell Peters 13:00 The Central Park Monolith Theory 15:00 When Awareness Becomes Apathy 19:00 Chop Wood, Carry Water: The Sweat Lodge 25:00 The Show I Didn't Give A F*ck About 27:00 Three Years Of Redlining Myself 38:00 Short-Term And Long-Term Flow States 44:00 My First Job: Urban Community Gardens 51:00 Fortress Of Solitude With No Furniture 56:00 Growing My Locks Was A Rebellion 1:05:00 What We're Each Working On Now Connect: Danté: @ChezDante Jesse: @PunjabiTimbit Show: @CreatingConsciousness905 #creatingconsiousness #startwithwhy #spirituality

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All episodes

28 Days In India Taught Me Who I’m Not| Hershawn Arora Ep.19

1 hr 23 min

Hershawn Arora came through to Creating Consciousness and we got into everything His first real trip to India as an adult, 28 days from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, the moment he realized he was a visitor and not a local, the kid who tried to hustle him for money. We talked about his first set at Seeps in London Ontario, writing dark Eminem-influenced lyrics in grade four, dropping Hopeless Romantic in 2021, and why he eventually chose comedy over rap “if you’re not putting the work in, someone else is.” Plus the moment he first said “I’m a comedian” out loud in front of his dad, Andrew Schulz as the guy who built the business model all of us are using, and why going four days without a set makes him feel like a crackhead. Catch Hershawn on IG  @rapsandlaughs  and come see him Nov 13 at The Mint in Victoria BC. Peace and love, y’all.TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro — Victoria BC run and new comedy clubs2:30 Indians are homophobic but hold pinkies — India trip debrief5:00 Kashmir to Kanyakumari in 28 days7:00 Feeling like a visitor and seeing where my parents came from12:30 The slower-pace life question and the rat in the sweat lodge17:00 The disparity, the guilt, and the "tell me I'm Indian" story24:00 Diwali fireworks, kite wars, and section 30 Chandigarh28:30 Would I ever perform comedy in India? What Nitish told me33:00 First stand-up set in London Ontario at Seeps36:00 From Grade 4 Eminem lyrics to Hopeless Romantic38:00 Why I chose comedy over rap — "if you're not working, someone is"44:00 Comedy as catharsis vs music as vulnerability49:30 The dark side of needing stage time — "chasing the dragon"54:00 Russell Peters, Andrew Schulz and the business model shift1:06:00 Saying "I'm a comedian" out loud and the parent reaction1:13:00 Levels To MeConnect with Hershawn: IG @rapsandlaughs, TikTok @rapsandlaughs, YouTube @rapsandlaughs. Live: Nov 13 at The Mint, Victoria BC.Connect with the show: @CreatingConsciousness905Jesse: @PunjabiTimbitProduced by Person1 Productions — @ChezDant...

Why Wearing Black Culture As A Costume Isn’t The Same As Appreciating It | Marlon Palmer | EP.18

1 hr 26 min

Marlon Palmer @ThatdudeMCFLY pulled up to Creating Consciousness and we got into everything. How he quit his dishwashing job mid-shift to make YouTube videos just to pay rent, the behind-the-scenes of Office Movers and why he refused to be in “the pantheon of bad Patois speakers on TV" the difference between appropriating a culture and celebrating one, the Shane Gillis gym bit, cancel culture making the loudest voices louder, and why he still thinks comedy is really just a magic trick. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro 2:15 Quitting the dishwasher job to make YouTube videos 7:30 Behind the scenes of Office Movers and keeping Patois real 10:30 The YouTube era vs the calculated content era 17:00 Why you shouldn't start stand-up if nobody's told you to 21:00 Bombing on MTV, Harbor Front, and the Metro Convention Center 30:00 Taking 6 years off after that bomb 33:00 The West Indies vs Africa redemption show 38:00 Comedy as a magic trick (why Marlon laughs on stage) 42:00 Leaving home at 19 and 2 years of couch surfing 49:00 Toronto as the smallest big city and why it's forged by fire 53:30 Appropriation vs appreciation and the costume question 1:02:30 Why cancel culture made the loudest voices louder #creatingconsiousness #toronto #podcast

When You Know The Spiritual Lessons But Still Feel Apathy| EP.17

1 hr 14 min

We got into the thing I've been dealing with lately. That gap between knowing all the spiritual lessons and still feeling apathetic about how to actually move forward. Back in the dolo chair this week with my co-host Danté, first solo episode in a minute. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Tim Hortons Discontinued The Donut Flavors 3:00 Consistency Beats Intensity Every Time 7:00 Meeting Kevin Hart And Russell Peters 13:00 The Central Park Monolith Theory 15:00 When Awareness Becomes Apathy 19:00 Chop Wood, Carry Water: The Sweat Lodge 25:00 The Show I Didn't Give A F*ck About 27:00 Three Years Of Redlining Myself 38:00 Short-Term And Long-Term Flow States 44:00 My First Job: Urban Community Gardens 51:00 Fortress Of Solitude With No Furniture 56:00 Growing My Locks Was A Rebellion 1:05:00 What We're Each Working On Now Connect: Danté: @ChezDante Jesse: @PunjabiTimbit Show: @CreatingConsciousness905 #creatingconsiousness #startwithwhy #spirituality

9 Hours Lost On Psychedelics In A National Park | Habib Siam | Ep. 16

1 hr 37 min

This week on Creating Consciousness I sat down with Habib Siam — Lebanese-Canadian comedian, PhD, and one of the most thoughtful voices in Toronto's scene — for a conversation that stretched almost two hours and still felt too short. We got into why he left the club circuit to rent his own rooms and do 90-minute cold opens, the moment the Beirut port blast of August 2020 made it impossible for him to keep comedy and real life separate, We talked about getting lost in the woods on psychedelics and encountering a school group, and the magic that happens in the third week of being off-grid. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Gil Scott-Heron Changed Everything 6:30 Two Of My Idols Blew Me Away, One Didn't 10:00 The Check Spot And Learning To Use Silence 13:00 Why Comedy Clubs Are The McDonald's Of Comedy 15:00 The Beirut Blast That Rewrote My Comedy 18:00 I Don't Want To Be The Jerk-Off Joke Guy 23:00 Writing From Ideas Instead Of Jokes 29:00 The Sneaker Podcast That Came Before Stand-Up 36:00 My First Set, 1 Year After The Breakup 45:00 Survivor's Remorse, Truthfully, And Now 50:00 Lost In The Woods, Tripping, With A School Group 58:00 Beirut, Pandemic, Losing My Dream Job 1:03:00 The Magic Happens In The Third Week 1:19:00 Why I Got A PhD On The Wire 1:33:00 Levels To Me With Habib #creatingconsiousness #Habibsiam #nature

7 Months Stuck In Taiwan Jail For SOME CRUMBS | Big Norm Alconcel | Ep. 15

1 hr 34 min

Authorities told him he was looking at up to 10 years... for some crumbs Welcome back to Creating Consciousness. This week's guest is Big Norm Alconcel — Filipino-Canadian comedian, Chef and the man behind Rude Pinoy, the empanada pop-up that went viral this year — and this episode runs over 90 minutes because every story he tells cracks open five more. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Rick & Morty, Nephews, And Being Half Filipino Half Vincy 00:03:49 Christmas In The Philippines Starts In September 00:07:30 The Y'locos Empanada Origin Story 00:13:14 Vigan City Longanisa — The Garlicky Spanish-Filipino One 00:15:00 Two Weeks, Three Empanadas A Day, Back Volcanoes 00:20:00 Hard Times, Last Dollar, Another Man's Treasure 00:25:00 Rude Pinoy Montreal Pop-Up And Jamaican Beef Empanadas 00:29:00 The Edmonton Musical Where I Played A Meth Dealer 00:32:00 Day One, Robbed By someone Who Asked Me For A Pump 00:36:00 Edmonton Police Told Me To Go Vigilante 00:42:00 The Somali Friend Who Replaced My MacBook At West Ed 00:46:00 Accept The Circumstance, Stack The Dubs 00:50:00 Seven Months In Taiwan Jail For Crumbs 01:03:00 How I Paid My Way Out And Taught English On The Side 01:07:30 Fifteen Years In Comedy And Still No Album 01:14:30 Multiple Choice Game Segment 01:22:30 The Grabba Story That Named Me Ranga Danga In Jamaica

Deep Dive into Psychotherapy | Julie Marquis | Marquis Counseling | Ep. 14

1 hr 4 min

98% of her clients are men. Julie Marquis is a licensed psychotherapist, has been in practice for almost fifteen years, trains other therapists in EMDR, and runs Marquis Counseling and Consulting here in Toronto Welcome back to Creating Consciousness. This week's guest is doing some of the most interesting mental health work in the city, and we spend the episode on the frameworks she actually uses — EMDR and what the eye movement part is really doing in your brain, somatic experiencing and why standing on a balance board can shut down your racing thoughts in a way talk therapy can't, the identity crisis that destroys first responders and military members when they retire and lose their tribe. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Why Julie Works Almost Exclusively With Men 00:05:23 If Men Can Heal The World Can Heal 00:07:40 EMDR — How It Actually Works 00:11:49 The Filing Cabinet In Your Brain 00:16:56 Why Movement Is The Most Underutilized Therapy Tool 00:21:00 Walk And Talk, Paddle Boarding, Going To The Gym 00:23:00 First Responders, Military, Veterans, And CEOs 00:26:19 The Identity Crisis Of Leaving The Uniform 00:29:21 Why Boys And Girls Need Different Parenting 00:31:09 Just Because You Have A Diagnosis Doesn't Mean You Get To Be An A*****e 00:34:44 Denial Land Is Like Candyland 00:38:14 Has The Younger Generation Gotten Soft 00:45:00 Enabling Vs Empowering Your People 00:46:48 Being Nice Vs Being Kind 00:52:04 When Should You Actually Go To Therapy 00:57:51 Multiple Choice Game Segment Connect: Jesse: @PunjabiTimbit (canonical spelling confirmed — Timbit) Show: @CreatingConsciousness905 New episodes every week Production by Person1 Productions #therapy #men #creatingconsiousnesspod

Hitting Rock Bottom At The Royal York Hotel | Recovering Outloud | Creating Consciousness Ep.13

1 hr 7 min

What happens when your only friend is your dealer? Welcome back to Creating Consciousness. This week's guest is Anthony, host of the Recovering Outloud podcast, and this is easily the most vulnerable conversation I've had on the show. This week's guest is Anthony, host of the Recovering Outloud podcast, and this is easily the most vulnerable conversation I've had on the show. Anthony walks me through the whole arc — what an addict's brain actually feels like, why the same wiring that made him spiral gets channeled into podcasting today, the difference between physical sobriety and emotional sobriety, why steroids and body dysmorphia were the gateway back into his relapse after almost a decade of recovery, why harm reduction saved his life even though he's ultimately an abstinence guy, and what actually happened in that Royal York lobby that got him to call his wife and say "I'm ready." TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 The Podcast Origin — Counselor Vince And Pink Cloud Sobriety 00:06:15 6 Garbage Cans And 5 Lids — The Addict Brain 00:07:51 Cross-Addictions — Golf, Jordans, Shopping, Gambling 00:12:56 The Lengths I Would Go To Get Cocaine 00:16:22 Harm Reduction Vs Abstinence — When Each One Works 00:21:12 Food Addiction, Body Dysmorphia, And Male Vanity 00:24:01 The Steroids That Led Me Back Into Relapse 00:28:15 What Rock Bottom Actually Means 00:29:53 The Royal York Hotel Story — January 2025 00:34:35 Cocaine Psychosis And The Only Friend I Had 00:37:52 The Security Guard Who Let Me Clean My Room 00:44:35 I Called My Wife And Said I'm Ready 00:45:16 What To Do When Someone You Love Is Using 00:49:14 The Photos My Wife Kept Sending Me 00:53:27 Spirituality, Higher Power, And A Shift In Perception 01:00:05 Multiple Choice Game Segment If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or substance use, please know that help is available and recovery is possible. Anthony's podcast Recovering Outloud is one place to start. Additional resources: ConnexOntario — 1-866-531...

How I Turned A $1000 Grant Into 500 Pairs of Shoes For Kids | Delux | Creating Consciousness Ep.12

1 hr 2 min

Delux turned a $1000 microgrant into 500 pairs of free Air Force 1s given out to kids in Jane and Finch, Rexdale, Malvern, Regent Park, and MaltonWelcome back to Creating Consciousness. Delux is a Jane and Finch–raised community leader, student psychotherapist studying Gestalt, founder of the Finding Your Heart initiative, and now runs his own production company after starting from an iPhone and borrowed cameras. We spend the whole episode on how someone with no roadmap actually builds something from the ground up: how he stumbled into community work through a court case that required volunteer hours. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Non-Profit Is Still A Business Model 00:00:56 The $1000 Grant That Started Everything 00:05:35 What Finding Your Heart Actually Is 00:09:23 The Halal Pizza Mistake That Taught Me Everything 00:12:19 The Court Case That Got Me Into Community Work 00:14:52 The Airwalks My Mom Got Me From Alibaba's At Yorkgate 00:17:14 Batman, Bruce Wayne, And How Heroes Process Pain 00:21:57 The Shoe As A Blank Canvas 00:23:55 Two Full-Time Jobs And One Hour Of Sleep For 7 Months 00:26:01 Don't Sell Your Ideas For Peanuts 00:29:37 Finding Your Heart Was My Get Out Of Jail Free Card 00:31:22 More Grants In Ottawa Than I Ever Got In Jane And Finch 00:34:12 Why Hyper-Independence Is A Symptom, Not A Strength 00:41:58 Why I Started A Production Company Without Being A Filmmaker 00:44:04 What The Older Generation Owes The Youth 00:51:35 Multiple Choice Game Segment #creatingconsiousness #nonprofit #podcast

From Rexdale To Living With Russell Peters In Malibu | Nitish Sakuja | Creating Consciousness Ep.11

1 hr 10 min

Russell Peters offered him a room in his Malibu mansion for a month. That month turned into three months. Three months turned into a month long tour of India together. Nitish is one of my OGs from the Toronto scene, a comic I came up watching, and he flew back to town for two weeks so we got him in the studio the moment we could. We spend the whole episode on the arc: the sixteen years of stand-up, the dropped-out year at Waterloo where he realized his Rexdale math couldn't compete with the Chinese kids spinning their pens, the Russell Peters story that everyone knows the highlights of but nobody knows the actual sequence of events. Nitish also opens up about his fitness journey, about the philosophy of the middle path, about what it took to add real detail to his material after Russell's brother Clayton pulled him aside in India and told him to imagine the audience knows nothing about him, and about what sixteen years of stand-up has actually taught him about himself.TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Welcome Back And Why LA Over New York00:03:00 Are Americans And Canadians The Same Amount Of Assholes00:06:34 Manifesting Success Means Manifesting The Hardship Too00:09:32 Stop Crying On Instagram — The Full Rant00:11:04 The Middle Path And Krishna's Answer To Arjuna00:13:41 7 Grams Of Mushrooms At 17 Broke My Whole Universe00:19:04 Anger, Pushing Buttons, And The Temple Laughing Fit00:24:29 How Just For Laughs Gags Turned Me Into A Comedian00:28:11 Dropping Out Of Waterloo And Rexdale Math00:30:38 The Visa Deal That Got Me To LA In 3 Months00:33:32 The Russell Peters Story — From Getting Punched To Malibu00:42:36 3.5 Weeks Touring India And Bombing Hard00:47:11 LA Stage Time Vs The Toronto Grind00:57:11 What 16 Years Of Stand-Up Actually Taught Me About Myself01:00:37 Multiple Choice Game Segment#creatingconsiousness #russellpeters #podcast

My Mom Hid My Stand-Up Career From My Dad For 5 Months | Rasha Elfeky | Creating Consciousness Ep.10

1 hr 27 min

Rasha Elfeky's mom kept her stand-up career a secret from her dad for five months. When he finally found out, he gave her mom the silent treatment for two weeks — and her mom told her it was the best two weeks of her life.Welcome to episode ten of Creating Consciousness, This week I had on Rasha Elfeky — Toronto comedian, actress, flight attendant, content creator, and a comic who's toured with Jerry D, opened for Zainab Johnson twice, been personally recommended for Just For Laughs New Faces, and built her whole career on being able to work any room clean or dirty. Rasha and I get into the whole arc: how her mom told her to drop out of her University of Toronto criminology degree and become a flight attendant, how Air Canada rejected her because of her blood and Air Transit hired her the next morning, the three years she spent traveling the world before she ever took a comedy stage. And she opens up about being diagnosed with ADHD at twenty-nine — two years after she'd already become a comedian and what comedy taught her about herself that no diagnosis ever could. I got emotional on-mic during this one. I'm leaving that in. Peace and love, y'all.TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Reputation Matters and Sterling's Bomb Is Coming Ego Check00:06:00 Why Versatility Beats Being Locked Into One Voice00:11:00 My First US Show at Soho House Los Angeles00:15:00 Feeling Outcasted By My Own Arab Community00:18:00 Post-COVID Comedy and Why Bad Shows Hurt Everyone00:22:00 Perform Like There Are 5000 People In The Room00:25:00 Sterling Scott Put His Ass On The Line To Get Me Booked00:28:00 Watching Headliners Is The Unwritten Rule00:32:00 Why Actors Are More Politically Correct Than Comedians00:37:00 My Mom Told Me To Drop Out And Become A Flight Attendant00:42:00 West Africa Named Me Gazelle. My Real Name Means Baby Gazelle.00:45:00 When Is An Accent Racism And When Is It Storytelling?00:47:00 My Mom Hid My Comedy Career From My Dad For 5 Months00:57:00 My Mom Working At KFC And Suing Them No...

16 Years of Hockey, Panic Attacks, To Doing Stand-Up Comedy | Creating Consciousness Ep.9

1 hr 11 min

Robert Orlando started travel hockey at five years old. By eighteen he was having panic attacks driving home from games and dealing with night terrors and sleep paralysis caused by the sport he loved.This week I sit down with my friend Robert Orlando, a Brampton-raised comedian, former junior hockey player, and one of the sharpest storytellers I've had the pleasure of building this show with. We spend the whole episode on the arc — how a five-year-old ends up recruited into travel hockey, what it costs to spend your entire childhood inside one identity, what it feels like when your family's mood every Sunday hinges on how you played that weekend, and what it takes to walk away from the thing you've been told your whole life you're supposed to be.TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Catching Up on the Old Podcast Days00:03:30 The Bakery Where My Dad Lost His Mind00:06:00 The India Trip That Turned Me Into a Rage-9-Year-Old00:09:30 Falling Off a Bike Into a Basement Beam00:13:00 The COVID Generation Will Recognize What's Broken00:15:30 Being Honest About My Relationship With Alcohol00:19:00 Why Bartending Feels Like Work and Stand-Up Feels Like the Outlet00:21:00 Trying Stand-Up In High School Because A Rapper Friend00:25:00 Travel Hockey at 5 Years Old and What It Costs00:29:00 Panic Attacks, Sleep Paralysis, and When You Know It's Time00:35:00 Learning How to Adapt When You Keep Getting Traded00:42:00 My First Stand-Up Set at the Ossington00:47:00 What the Comedy Scene Was Like Before COVID00:51:00 Content Creators Changed the Landscape After the Pandemic00:58:00 Levels To Me Game Segment#Creatingconsciousness #hockey #podcast

Open Heart Surgery to WINNING His Pro Card | Damien Schelborn | Creating Consciousness Ep.8

1 hr 22 min

In 2017, Damien had open heart surgery, double valve replacement, and was back in the gym by week five. A year later he won his pro card. Welcome back to Creating Consciousness. This week I sit down with a friend, a mentor, a personal trainer, and one of the realest competitors in Canadian natural bodybuilding.From Trinidad to Brooklyn to Brampton, from building his first gym out of cinder blocks and a garden hose at fourteen to becoming head personal trainer at the Y in his first month, from being one of the first guys in Canada's men's physique category when it launched in 2012 to learning what it actually takes to keep competing when the industry shifted around him.TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Trinidad to Brooklyn to Toronto — The Whole Journey00:08:30 Why I Don't Want to Go Back to New York00:13:00 Moving to Milton Was Too Quiet for a Brooklyn Guy00:18:00 How I Built My First Gym With Cinder Blocks at 1400:24:00 The Day the Gym Community Taught Me Everything00:28:30 Why I Became Head Personal Trainer in a Month00:32:30 The Real Truth About Passion vs Chasing Money00:38:00 Being a Natural Athlete in a Steroid Era00:43:00 What Bodybuilding Nutrition Actually Looks Like00:49:00 How to Build a Healthy Relationship With Food00:55:00 Leading By Example When Teaching Your Kids00:58:30 The Heart Murmur I Lived With for 20 Years01:03:00 Open Heart Surgery and a Double Valve Replacement01:07:30 The Doctor's Visit That Changed Everything About Recovery01:09:30 Speaking Things Into Existence Through Faith01:13:00 Levels To Me Game Segment#creatingconsiousness #mindset #podcast

The Question That Proves "Making It" Is a Lie | Joe Tuccitto — Creating Consciousness Ep. 7

1 hr 20 min

"What do you actually want from making it?" Welcome back to Creating Consciousness. This week I sit down with Joe, the owner and founder of The Corner Comedy Club, a mentor, a friend, and one of the realest minds I know in the Toronto comedy scene. We get into the full origin story of The Corner — how a Joe Rogan podcast monologue about being the hero of your own story struck Joe at the lowest point of his life and put him on the path from construction worker to comedy club owner, how he ran his own podcast for years just to secretly pick comedians' brains about how the industry actually works, and how Queen and John's old Speaker's Corner — the free-speech booth that ran on city TV before YouTube existed — gave the club its name and its DNA. TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 The Joe Rogan Podcast That Started It All00:05:00 How He Secretly Researched the Comedy Industry00:08:00 Why The Corner Comedy Club Is Named After a Soapbox in England00:13:00 A Safe Place for Dangerous Ideas — Opening Year of MeToo00:18:00 How the Hungriest Comedians Built the Club Organically00:22:00 Why He Tried Stand-Up for a Year Then Quit00:28:00 What He Looks For When Curating Comedy Lineups00:36:00 Why a Handshake Beats Every Credit on Your Resume00:40:00 Why You Don't Have to Leave Toronto to Make It00:50:00 The Question That Proves Making It Is Already Yours00:56:00 The Year He Decided to Have No Goals01:03:00 The War of Art and Why Resistance Will Try to Stop You01:08:00 How Hitting Bottom Made Him Finally Ask for Help01:11:00 Why Anger and Forgiveness Are the Real Roots of Addiction01:17:00 Levels To Me: Mafia Movies and Modern Day Kingpins#creatingconsiousness #makingit #podcast

How Scarborough Took Back Its Own Story | Janice Mendes — Creating Consciousness Ep. 6

56 min

Scarborough was getting talked about for everything except the people who actually live there so Janice Mendes built a platform to flip that whole narrative. Welcome back to Creating Consciousness. This week I sit down with the official unofficial Ambassador of Scarborough herself, founder and producer of Scarborough's Got Jokes, and a real one in every sense of the word. We get into what actually makes Scarborough different (it's the only place where the immigrants outnumbered the people calling them immigrants), why we're all out here angry about a five-dollar patty but never angry about fifty-dollar pasta, and why Kennedy Station was the heartbeat of half our childhoods. Janice tells the whole founding story of Scarborough's Got Jokes — how it started as a birthday stunt where she just wanted to bring four comedians to her side of the city instead of dragging twenty of her friends downtown, and how it grew into a 200,000-follower brand booking lineups with names like Hasan Minhaj, Nitish Sakuja, and Tamara Shevon. We talk about the difference between actors and comedians (actors are lone ships, comedians are a community), why comedy still doesn't get the respect it deserves as an art form, and how her years working as a youth worker — including with a young Tristan Thompson — taught her exactly how to handle a room full of comics who need attention. We close with a brand new round of "Levels To Me." If you're from Scarborough, from a hood that doesn't get its flowers, or anywhere built by people the news got wrong — pull up. Peace and love, y'all. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Why Scarborough Is the Place Immigrants Actually Land 00:04:30 Why $5 Patties Make People Angry But $50 Pasta Doesn't 00:08:30 Kennedy Station Was the Heartbeat of Our Childhood 00:13:30 Stigma vs Reality of Growing Up in Scarborough 00:18:30 The Unwritten Rules of Scarborough Hoods 00:22:00 Scarborough's Got Jokes Started as a Birthday Stunt 00:26:00 Actors Are Lone Ships But Comedians Are a Com...

Opening for Russell Peters in Front of 11,000 People and Why "Making It" Is a Lie | Crystal Ferrier

53 min

My first ever guest opened for Russell Peters in front of 11,000 people — and she's the one who told me that "making it" in comedy is mostly a myth.Welcome back to Creating Consciousness. I'm beyond grateful to bring on my mentor, my friend, and one of the realest touring headliners in the game, Crystal Ferrier. We get into what it actually looks like to "make it" (spoiler: it's about $75 more than you were already getting, and sometimes just free food), what it was like being the only Indian female comic in Toronto when she started, and why being born "with two strikes" became the reason to grind harder instead of an excuse. Crystal breaks down the difference between using your real experience on stage and punching down, why she'll never whiten up her mom's accent to make an audience comfortable, and what years working as a behavioral therapist with kids on the spectrum taught her that she carried straight into comedy. We get into colorism inside our own communities, breaking generational cycles for her kids, and the grade-seven moment — "F**k you, dandruff" — where she first discovered that humor could save her. We close it out with a brand new game segment I built called Levels To Me. If you're an artist chasing a finish line that keeps moving, or you've ever used a joke to survive something — pull up. Peace and love, y'all.TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Why "Making It" In Comedy Is Mostly a Myth00:02:30 Opening for Russell Peters in Front of 11,000 People00:05:30 Social Media vs Real Stage Experience in Comedy00:08:30 Being the Only Indian Female Comic in Toronto00:11:30 Punching Down vs Telling Your Real Story On Stage00:15:30 The Worst and Best Gigs of a Touring Headliner00:22:30 What Behavioral Therapy Taught Her About Comedy00:27:30 Colorism, Interracial Marriage and Breaking Cycles00:33:00 F**k You Dandruff: The Day Humor Saved Her00:38:00 Should Anything Be Off Limits in Stand Up Comedy00:41:00 Humor as a Defense Mechanism and the Bucket Life00:45:00 Levels To Me: Th...

Why We Stopped Knowing Our Neighbors — A Cultural Psychology Breakdown | Creating Consciousness Ep.4

43 min

Somewhere along the way we stopped knowing our neighbors, and I'm not sure most of us even noticed. Welcome back to Creating Consciousness with me and my co-host Danté. This one digs into individualistic versus collectivistic cultures — the framework I learned in a cultural psychology class that finally gave me a name for the thing I've been feeling about North America for years. We get into the Greek lady who gave me tea and a piece of cake while I waited and was confused that I thought it was a kind gesture (because in her culture, that's just what you do at 2 PM), the Italian nonna across the street who was a little racist but loved us like family, the corner store owner in Jane and Finch who literally jumped the counter to defend a kid being shaken down for change, and the bus in Kingston, Jamaica where strangers passed a six-year-old up to the front so he wouldn't miss his stop. I share what it's like growing up as a child of immigrants caught between two cultural systems, why social media might be the final nail in the coffin of neighborhood community, and what that one Twitch streamer in Hamilton screaming "yo chat" at his phone while real humans tried to talk to him taught me about what we're becoming. If you've ever felt like the world got lonelier and you couldn't figure out why — pull up. Peace and love, y'all.Timestamps:00:00:00 Welcome and Producer Sound Effects00:01:07 Have We Become More Selfish As A People?00:02:38 The Greek Lady At Delish Kitchen Who Just Gave Us Tea00:05:20 Individualistic Vs Collectivistic Cultures Explained00:08:35 Collectivism In Our Own Canadian Neighbourhoods00:11:55 Jane And Finch And The Italian Nonna Who Loved Us00:14:00 The Double Double Owner Who Chased Bullies Off The Block00:18:35 Getting Beat By 10 Punjabi Grandmas At The Temple00:20:22 The Hamilton Twitch Streamer Who Wasn't In The Room00:23:56 The Jamaica Bus Story — A Community Watching One Kid00:29:14 What The New MAID Policy Actually Proposes00:32:20 The Preventat...

Why Rushing to Monetize Your Passion Will Kill It | Creating Consciousness Ep. 3

49 min

The minute you try to monetize your passion, you've already started killing it — and in episode three I get into why. Welcome back to Creating Consciousness with me and my co-host Danté. We get into why social media has rewired what people think stand-up comedy even is (it's not just crowd work clips, I promise), why there's no prerequisite to grab a mic — you can literally smoke crack and sign up for five minutes — and what eleven years in the trenches actually teaches you about the difference between intensity and consistency. I share the moment I hosted the same comedy contest that gave me my first break and watched the new comics light up the way I used to, and how it hit me that the goalposts I'd been chasing kept moving the whole time. We get into Lavelle Crawford as one of the most underrated stand-ups ever, why I want people to be in actual physical pain from laughing at my shows, and Buddha's "two arrows" framework — the suffering you can't control versus the suffering you pile on yourself on top of it. We close on Ikigai, the Eightfold Path, and why the problems we're trying to solve right now were already solved 2,000 years ago. If you're an artist trying to balance the craft with paying the rent, or just someone who keeps feeling like the finish line keeps moving — pull up. Peace and love, y'all.Timestamps:00:00:00 Cancel Culture Made The Comedians It Tried To Stop00:05:00 Instagram Comedy Is An Art Form Too But Not Stand Up00:08:00 There Is No Prerequisite To Doing Stand Up Comedy00:11:00 Why Comedians Share Punchlines And Steal Premises00:14:30 Be The Joke Don't Just Recite It On Stage00:17:00 Lavelle Crawford And The Underrated Greats Of Stand Up00:23:00 The Moving Goalpost Of Comedy And Forgetting Where You Are00:30:30 Consistency Beats Intensity For A 50 Year Career00:34:00 Why Your Passion Was Never Supposed To Pay Your Bills00:38:30 The Rush To Monetize Is Killing Your Creative Voice00:42:00 Buddha's Two Arrows And The Suffering You Add Yourself00...

"Trust Your Feelings" Is Bad Advice — Here's What to Do Instead | Creating Consciousness Ep. 2

49 min

Just trust your feelings" is some of the most dangerous advice floating around right now, and in this episode I get into why. Welcome back to Creating Consciousness — episode two with me and my brother and co-host Danté Williams. We dig into the difference between feelings and gut instincts (one is conditioned by your past, the other is your body trying to talk to you without a mouth), how I had to live through my first real heartbreak before I could see the codependent patterns I'd been carrying since childhood, and why so many of us — men especially — get stuck cycling between suppressing emotion and replaying the same justification tape in our head until we're exhausted.Timestamps:00:00:00 Why "Trust Your Feelings" Is Dangerous Advice00:04:50 First Heartbreak and Codependent Relationship Patterns00:07:00 Feelings vs Gut Instinct: How To Tell The Difference00:09:30 Your Body Knows Things Your Mind Cannot Explain00:13:30 Getting Addicted to Victimhood and Negative Emotions00:17:30 Marriage, Generational Trauma and Inherited Fears00:24:00 Rumination vs Processing: Why Men Get Stuck00:28:00 How Painting Your Anger Onto a Canvas Heals You00:32:30 Not Your Fault But Still Your Responsibility00:35:00 What The Bhagavad Gita Taught Me About Triggers00:37:00 Robbed at 6AM and What It Pushed Me Toward00:42:00 Stand Up Comedy vs The Social Media Algorithm#creatingconsiousness #gutinstinct #socialmedia

Why "Just Manifest It" Is Dangerous Advice | Creating Consciousness Ep. 1

45 min

The "manifest your dream life" crowd is selling something dangerous, and after 12 years working in a youth shelter I can't stay quiet about it anymore. Welcome to episode one of Creating Consciousness — the podcast where I dig into the messy intersection of creativity, mental health, and the artist's journey, with my brother and co-host Danté Williams behind the scenes. In this first one we get into why fear of public speaking was never really the issue for comedians (it's the day-to-day that wrecks us), how spirituality got hijacked by hustle culture, what actually happened to me on day four of a silent meditation retreat in Thailand, and why I think the people who've been through the worst of it tend to be the funniest in the room. We talk about exposure therapy, the placebo effect in reverse, why bamboo spends five years underground before it shoots up, and how humor became one of the realest tools I've used in youth work. If you're trying to better yourself, learn about mental health beyond the Instagram quotes, or you're somewhere on the artist's path and need someone to say the quiet part out loud — pull up. New episodes every week. Peace and love, y'all.

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