Bridget and Robbie Jenkins kept delaying their dream of growing and distributing local flowers. Eventually, in the future, one day, someday -- they told themselves -- they'd go all in on their business.

They found excuses. They couldn't find the time. They had other businesses to tend to. Yet, the inner voices pulling them toward their future remained.

And as fate would have it, the universe gave the couple the push they needed. At that point, they couldn't ignore the voices any longer.

In today's conversation from their (echo-y) farmhouse, Bridget and Robbie sit down with me to discuss:

• Bridget Jenkins' Seacoast Story (00:00)
• Bridget's intuitive eating counselor career (08:31)
• The beginning of Nowadays Flowers (15:10)
• The scary moment that changed everything (23:10)
• Reflecting on Nowadays Flowers' success (33:56)
• What's your mission? (48:58)
• The Final Final Question (50:56)

Bridget and Robbie Jenkins are the co-founders of Nowadays Flowers, a micro flower farm seated on unceded Abenaki, Pennacook and Wabanaki Confederacy land in Dover, N.H. With the help of their beloved flower truck named Clover, Bridget and Robbie host educational workshops, design custom arrangements, and also deliver unique arrangements for weddings, bridal showers, and the event of your dreams.

--For more information on how you can support Bridget and Robbie, visit NowadaysFlowers.com.

--To support the telling of more incredible Seacoast Stories like this one, please FOLLOW this podcast on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ feeds. It helps more than you know.

This podcast is hosted, written, researched, and produced by Spotify's ⁠Troy Farkas⁠, who lives in downtown Portsmouth.

*TRIGGER WARNING* This episode contains references to addiction. Listener discretion is advised.

Steve Ivanoski wanted to help people. So he chose to pursue a career in pharmacy.

Then, after spending years in the industry, he'd had enough. The peeks behind the curtain, coupled with his own personal battle with drug addiction, led him to leave behind everything he'd ever known in search of a better way to help people.

With the hope of filling in the blind spots left by Western medicine, Steve forayed into entrepreneurship with Dr. Beewell, a Seacoast-based wellness company that combines the nutritional benefits of honey with the therapeutic benefits of cannabis to provide consumers with a holistic path to better health.

In today's conversation from my home studio, Steve and I discuss:

• Steve Ivanoski's pharmacy education (00:00)
• Painkiller addiction (06:17)
• Using cannabis as medicine (15:50)
• Leaving the pharmacy industry (17:37)
• Steve's wellness company, Dr. Beewell (22:32)
• Simple advice for a healthy life (31:32)
• What's your mission? (33:55)
• The Final Final Question (35:26)

Steve Ivanovski is the owner and founder of Dr. Beewell, a wellness company serving Mass., N.H., and Maine. Originally from Easton, Mass., Steve attended Northeastern University, where he worked hard to become a pharmacist like his brother. After leaving the industry behind a few years ago, he founded Dr. Beewell and also began the Dr. Beewell podcast. He currently lives in Dover, N.H.

--For more information on where you can purchase delicious Dr. Beewell honey, visit Dr.Beewell.com.

--To support the telling of more Seacoast Stories like this one, please FOLLOW this podcast on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ feeds. It helps more than you know.

This podcast is hosted, written, researched, and produced by Spotify's Troy Farkas, who lives in downtown Portsmouth.

For the first 20+ years of her life, soccer was all that Katy Marshall knew. It was her entire identity.

But when reality set in that she wouldn't play professionally, panic ensued. What was her purpose without sports, and where should she go to find it?

Over the next few years, Katy asked herself these questions as she left the Seacoast in search of self-discovery. She eventually found the answers she craved, but she found them in the most unlikely of places.

In her first podcast interview, Katy opens up about life before, during, and after the founding of Studio One, the Dover-based cycling studio that gives Katy everything she's searching for in this life.

In today's conversation from the Studio One lobby, Katy and I discuss:

• Katy Marshall's Seacoast Story (00:00)
• How Katy lost her sense of self after school (05:30)
• Katy's path to becoming a spin instructor (14:00)
• Studio One's CRAZY origin story (17:35)
• Building culture and community at Studio One (37:38)
• What's your mission? (43:23)
• The Final Final Question (46:09)

Katy Marshall is the owner and founder of Studio One Cycling, Dover's first indoor cycling studio. Originally from Eliot, ME, Katy played Division III college soccer, worked barista jobs in Seattle, and taught spin classes in Nashville and California before eventually returning to the Seacoast to start her business in late 2020.

--To learn more about the various fitness classes Katy's studio offers, please visit StudioOneCycling.com.

--To support the telling of more incredible Seacoast Stories like Katy's, please FOLLOW this podcast on our ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠ feeds.

If you've scrolled through social media at any point in the last two years, chances are you've zoomed past clips of Stanford researcher and podcaster Dr. Andrew Huberman waxing poetic about the amazing health benefits of trends like the cold plunge, sauna, floating, red light therapy, and more.

Well, the Seacoast was participating in the trend long before Dr. Huberman started going viral. In 2018, the floating/sauna/cold plunge craze hit the Seacoast when today's guest, Catherine Markovsky, co-founded FLOTE, a popular Seacoast spot that even Rogan and Huberman would fall in love with.

In today's conversation from FLOTE in Hampton, Catherine and I discuss:

• Catherine Markovsky's Seacoast Story (00:00)
• Catherine Markovsky's background in Chinese medicine (04:10)
• The history of float therapy (09:48)
• Opening FLOTE in 2018 (12:22)
• The science behind sauna/cold plunge (19:15)
• Pushing back against floating + sauna/cold plunge (28:34)
• Catherine Markovsky's business idea for "social wellness" (34:28)
• Prioritizing your health (41:18)
• What's your mission? (43:46)

Catherine Markovsky is the co-owner and co-founder of FLOTE, a float therapy + wellness "soul gym" with locations in Hampton and Portsmouth. After spending her formative years practicing Chinese medicine in California, Catherine moved to the Seacoast in the early 2000s to continue a career in acupuncture. In 2018, she opened FLOTE in Hampton.

--To learn more about all the wellness options FLOTE has to offer, visit seacoastflote.com.

--To support the telling of more incredible Seacoast Stories like Catherine's, please FOLLOW this podcast on our ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ feeds.

After spending 48 hours in the emergency room last summer, doctors diagnosed me with Type 1 diabetes at 27 years old, a rare case of an autoimmune disease that hinders the pancreas' ability to produce insulin, the hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar levels as you go about your daily life.

I've spent the last year learning my new body, but I still have so many questions about how to manage this relentless disease. Luckily, comedian Nick Callas (who performed in Portsmouth last month) is an expert on the subject because he's had it since he was six years old. And in today's bonus episode, he and I swap our diabetes stories, talk about how to manage it, and what YOU -- the non-diabetic -- can do to help make the diabetic in your life feel more at ease.

According to the American Diabetes Association, 98,505 of New Hampshire residents have diabetes (8.7%). In Maine, it's 113,186 (10%). The total cost of managing diabetes in New Hampshire each year is $1.3B, and in Maine it's $1.4B. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says 38.4M Americans are diabetic (11.6%).

In Part Two of our conversation from his home office in New York City's Financial District, Nick and I get into:

• My Type 1 diabetes diagnosis in 2023 (00:00)
• Diabetes statistics in NH/Maine (05:17)
• Nick Callas on his T1 diabetes experience (06:52)
• How to manage diabetes (10:23)
• How you can help the diabetic in your life (26:26)
• Why Nick Callas is a T1 diabetes advocate (35:10)
• What is your mission? (37:05)

Nick Callas is a New York City-based actor, rapper, and comedian. While playing at several prominent country clubs across the country, Nick has opened for comedy stars like Colin Jost, Dana Carvey, and Tracy Morgan.

Currently on a comedy tour that's taking him to big cities like Austin, TX, and Chicago, Nick has also appeared in Portsmouth and Portland (ME), with plans to hit Auburn, ME, in July. His first comedy special, "Wolf Pup," premieres June 27 on the popular YouTube channel, 800 Pound Gorilla.

--To watch Nick's comedy special on June 27, subscribe to the ⁠800 Pound Gorilla YouTube channel⁠ so you get notified when it's live. And for more hilarious content from Nick, you can give him a follow on Instagram⁠ @MrNickCallas⁠.

--To support the telling of more incredible Seacoast Stories, please FOLLOW this podcast on our ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ feeds.

****Programming Note: This is a BONUS episode of the podcast. Standard episodes (like with ⁠Courtney Perkins ⁠and ⁠Maggie Sutherland⁠) will air every MONDAY. Moving forward, bonus episodes like today's will publish on occasional THURSDAYS as the opportunities present themselves.

Last month, Nick Callas performed at The Music Hall Lounge on a perfect Friday night in downtown Portsmouth. A friend and I attended the show, and we laughed out loud the entire time as Nick made jokes about Seacoast citizens with boats and the political climate in New England, among many other subjects.

In Part One of our conversation from his home office in New York City's Financial District, Nick and I get into:

• Nick Callas' Seacoast Story (00:00)
• Thoughts on Portsmouth after performing there (03:10)
• Changes in the comedy industry (07:48)
• Nick Callas' comedy approach (10:38)
• Comedy and the heightened political climate (25:25)
• The making of "Wolf Pup" (32:06)

Nick Callas is a New York City-based actor, rapper, and comedian. While playing at several prominent country clubs across the country, Nick has opened for comedy stars like Colin Jost, Dana Carvey, and Tracy Morgan.

Currently on a comedy tour that's taking him to big cities like Austin, TX, and Chicago, Nick has also appeared in Portsmouth and Portland (ME), with plans to hit Auburn, ME, in July. His first comedy special, "Wolf Pup," premieres June 27 on the popular YouTube channel, 800 Pound Gorilla.

--To watch Nick's comedy special on June 27, subscribe to the 800 Pound Gorilla YouTube channel so you get notified when it's live. And for more hilarious content from Nick, you can give him a follow on Instagram @MrNickCallas.

--To support the telling of more incredible Seacoast Stories, please FOLLOW this podcast on our ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ and/or ⁠Spotify⁠ feeds.

****Programming Note: This is a BONUS episode of the podcast. Standard episodes (like with Courtney Perkins and Maggie Sutherland) will air every MONDAY. Moving forward, bonus episodes like today's will publish on occasional THURSDAYS as the opportunities present themselves.

If you've scrolled by a drop-dead gorgeous Seacoast sunset on Instagram, chances are it was posted to @SeacoastLately, the region's go-to guide for celebrating the beauty, culture, and happenings of the Seacoast. An Instagram account with 38,000 followers, @SeacoastLately is the ultimate guide for how to best spend your time, money, and energy while taking in all the magic the Seacoast has to offer. Who is the mystery person running this account, and what's the story behind it, you ask?

In today's conversation from my home studio in Portsmouth, the Seacoast's biggest fan discusses:

• Maggie Sutherland's Seacoast Story (00:00)
• Founding Seacoast Lately nine years ago (07:58)
• The ideal summer Seacoast day (20:38)
• Recs for coffee, dinner, date night, and enjoying the outdoors on the Seacoast (23:24)
• How Seacoast Lately can help you grow your business (29:58)
• Seacoast Lately's business model (36:06)
• What's your mission? (37:10)
• The dark side of social media (38:42)

Maggie Sutherland is the founder and owner of Seacoast Lately. A product of New Castle, Sutherland spends her days telling her large audience about the people, places, and things that make the Seacoast an American hidden gem. Founded nine years ago when Sutherland returned to the Seacoast following a stint living and working in New York City, operating Seacoast Lately is Sutherland's dream job, a role she earns a full-time living from.

--To learn more about all the beauty the Seacoast has to offer, follow @SeacoastLately on Instagram and sign up for their FREE newsletter here.

--To support the telling of more incredible Seacoast Stories, please FOLLOW this podcast on our ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ and/or ⁠Spotify⁠ feeds.

Every summer, hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Seacoast to take in Portsmouth's most beloved artistic tradition: The Prescott Park Arts Festival. Across 10 jam-packed weeks, the Festival hosts incredible weekly FREE concerts from big-name acts, a musical, and more in a breathtaking historical venue seated along the Piscataqua River. And this summer, the Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary, meaning 2024 will mark one of the most memorable Seacoast summers to date. The orchestrator of all this musical magic is the guest on the debut episode of "Seacoast Stories."

In today's conversation from her office in Prescott Park, Perkins discusses:

• Courtney Perkins' Seacoast Story (00:00)
• Prescott Park's unique business model (06:54)
• The rich history of Prescott Park Arts Festival (11:22)
• The behind-the-scenes planning of Prescott Park Arts Festival (20:00)
• Plans for "Legally Blonde" this summer (30:20)
• What's your mission? (39:32)
• The state of the performing arts industry (40:36)

Courtney Perkins is the Executive Director of the Prescott Park Arts Festival. After spending 13 years working behind-the-scenes for a prestigious orchestra in Chicago, Perkins took this job in Portsmouth four years ago, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to wreak havoc on the live entertainment industry.

--For more information on Prescott Park's summer calendar, as well as how you can help support the park and its mission, please visit PrescottPark.org.

--To support the telling of more incredible Seacoast Stories, please FOLLOW this podcast on our Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify feeds.