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Episode #22: Laura Loaiza & Comuna 13

6/13/2022

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In this podcast, we take a guided tour of Comuna 13 - the most amazing neighborhood I’ve witnessed anywhere in the world - with my friend and tour guide, Laura Loaiza.
 
A comuna is a zone of the city, and Medellin, Colombia is divided into 16 of them. But Comuna 13 was always plagued by violence since its inception on the steep side of a mountain overlooking central Medellin. 

As a logical access route for drug traffickers coming into and out of the city, it became a war zone in the 1980s and 90s, with rival drug cartels, military operations, paramilitary groups, rebel groups FARC and ELN, and street gangs all shooting it out on a nightly basis.

​The government even had 10 incursions into Comuna 13 in 2002 alone, using helicopters, tanks, machine guns, and bazookas on the local populace! All of this caused indiscriminate killing, disappearances, and terror, putting neighbor against neighbor with the normal, humble residents the true victims.
 
Further isolating the people of Comuna, their neighborhood was built on a steep mountainside with few good roads to get in our out. So, they had to access alleys, paths, and mountain trails to come or go, including 350 stairs! 

Needless to say, it was nearly impossible for the residents to leave for central Medellin on a daily basis, so jobs, schools, medical care, and city life were largely inaccessible to them.
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But all of that changed in 2011 when construction was finished on a series of outdoor public escalators in Comuna 13, the first of their kind in the world.
 
As part of an international project as well as investment by a newly elected mayor, the modern new escalators climbed the steepest part of a 384-meter incline through the Comuna, saving residents a difficult 25-minute walk straight up.
 
These escalators are similar to something you’d see in a mall, but open-air with roofs against the rain. Additionally, a cable car system with gondolas was constructed to join the new San Javier Station at the base of Comuna 13 with central Medellin. Soon, a wide paved ramp, Viaducto Media Ladera, was constructed within the Comuna, further connecting smaller barrios within.
 
This sparked a new era of pride and hope in Comuna 13, and residents could now come and go for jobs, education, healthcare, and to enjoy the best Medellin had to offer.
 
It also garnered a good deal of curiosity, as people starting coming to witness the modern marvel for themselves, a stark transformation from the war zone it once was. Tourism began to grow, but Comuna 13’s growth transcendence into a butterfly was fully underway around 2015, when local artists came together to discuss an organized approach to decorating their barrios.
 
Today, Comuna 13 is like a living museum of street and graffiti art, with vibrant colors, grand murals, historical depictions, and symbols of hope and perseverance covering almost every available surface throughout the entire barrio – walls, sides of buildings, front doors of houses, stairways, park benches, and more. 
 
This skyrocketed the tourism industry in Comuna 13, and it’s now one of the safest barrios for foreigners or visitors to walk through in all of Medellin. Of course, it’s still a poor barrio with a lot of social problems – many of them exacerbated by the pandemic. There isn’t even a proper hospital or clinic in the entire Comuna!
 
But now, they are inexorably tied to the modern, outside world (I even saw a working QR code painted on the side of a building and Comuna 13 has its own NFTs!), with plenty of education and social programs involved in bettering the lives of the youth and people there. 
 
I was lucky enough to stumble upon Comuna 13 when I lived in Medellin for six months, and a local guide and resident, Laura Loaiza, was recommended. Laura is the founder of Zippy Tours and was nice enough to get mic’d up as we walked through her home neighborhood, talking about the history, art and people.
 
In this, part 1 of the podcast on Comuna 13, we talk about her memories of the neighborhood as a war zone when she was a child, the early history of the Comuna, as well as the architectural marvel of the escalators, and later the explosion of color and vibrance with street art.
 
In part 2 coming soon, we’ll delve into the artwork of Comuna 13, discussing pieces, painters, significance, and style as we walk through the barrio. (I’ll make sure to offer plenty of photos and videos for that one.
 
Enjoy this guided tour of Comuna 13 with Laura and thanks for listening!
 
-Norm :-)
 
Check out Zippy Tours here.


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Episode #21: Kyle McGee, or "Goo"

5/11/2022

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In this podcast, you have the pleasure of meeting Kyle McGee or “Goo,” as everyone used to affectionately call him, my best friend since high school. 
 
Goo (also known as “Goo Man,” “Goo Rasta,” or “Goo Monster”) is the son of ministers, a social worker, racial advocate, musician who specializes in West African drums, and traveler.

He also happens to be one of the kindest and most caring human beings you’ll ever know. 

​So, in this trip down memory lane, we talk about meeting in high school and becoming friends, how we found joy and expression in the burgeoning rap music scene, and the racial conflict in our high school that boiled over into a race riot that made national news. 
 
We go deep into his time at Syracuse and leadership in the bi-racial community, his exploration of racial identity, our time as roommates in San Francisco and the work he did there in the schools, his travels to Africa where he lived and studied drumming, and his recent visit to Costa Rica for my 50th birthday. 
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​While that’s a whole lot to chew on and makes a fascinating conversation, there’s still a lot of hilarious stories and memories we didn’t cover – like the time we traveled around Europe together at only 17 years old. 
 
After listening to this podcast, I’m sure you’ll want to get to know Goo even better and hear more, so I promise to get him on the podcast again in the near future. 
 
But until then, enjoy this conversation with Kyle McGee!

-Norm Schriever  :-)

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Episode #20: Molly Ruland

5/1/2022

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My humble little Who in the World podcast has now hit 20 episodes, with such an eclectic and interesting cast of characters that I’ve been fortunate enough to know in my life.

And you can expect a lot more remarkable people from my journey, starting today with my new-but-great friend, Molly Ruland.

​For many years, Molly was an activist and community organizer in Washington D.C., hosting underground music and artistic events at the iconic One Love Massive space as well and being integral in the “DC as Fuck” scene.

But I first met Molly in Tamarindo, Costa Rica when we both moved there in late 2020 as Covid-refugees (at that time, the only safe choices for expats were pretty much Costa Rica or Nicaragua!).

​Molly was thrilled to be there from the start, living by the beach in the tropics as she ran her thriving podcast production company, HeartCast Media.
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But only a few short weeks after she arrived in the land of pura vida – pure life – she ran into a nightmare when she was drugged and rubbed during a home invasion.
 
Despite that horrific start, Molly bounced back and refused to quit or run – a testament to her strength, character, and no-back-down spirit. Not only did she keep her bags unpacked and remained in Costa Rica, but she found a way to thrive, creating an intentional, balanced, healthy new life.
 
She continues to explore Costa Rica while running HeartCast and other media projects like a bad ass boss, and recently bought an incredibly beautiful property right on lake Arenal in the country’s most underrated region.
 
In this podcast, I catch up with Molly right before she heads back to D.C. to work the National Cannabis Festival and hang out with Wiz Khalifa, so we certainly had a lot to talk about…and celebrate!
 
Enjoy this chat with Molly Ruland and thanks again for listening and sharing this podcast with your homies. 
 
Cheers to 20 more episodes!
 
-Norm  :-)
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Episode #19: Whitey

4/10/2022

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​In this episode, I chat with my old homie, Stephen White. 
 
Stephen (or just "Whitey" as his friends and coworkers call him) came from the East Coast like me but made his way out west, finding his way to San Francisco, California post-college. 
 
I moved out to San Francisco around 1995-98 as well, and together with our incredibly eclectic but tight-knit crew, we ripped up the city.

​But more than just partying and experiencing the music and culture the city had to offer, Stephen was like a big brother to me, guiding me socially, artistically, and professionally. 

(In fact, it was Whitey who gave me my first chance at a writing gig for his e-zine, Lifted, and I was shocked when one of my articles - Deep Drying the American Dream - went viral and made it to the front page of Yahoo.) 

​He always looked out, gave me wise counsel, and rarely would let me pay for a thing...


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 (since I was so broke I'd be lucky just to make rent money every month!). To this day, when I hook so many people up and don't ask for anything in return, I'm passing on the good karma and mentorship that Whitey extended to me. 
 
I haven't lived in San Francisco for a long time, but Whitey is still ripping it up, mostly through his career in the music industry. 
 
He's long been the CEO of music tech companies and startups, and currently works with Empire, a record label that focuses on empowering their artists - something very rare in the record business. 
 
Empire features many notable hip hop artists but is also active with growing Afro Beats and many other genres. 
 
So, I hope you thoroughly enjoy this podcast interview with Whitey as we take a trip down memory lane, talk about how San Francisco has changed, his career and life in the music industry, and still finding that artistic outlet and passion in life. 
 
Let's gooooooo! 
 
-Norm Schriever

PS You can follow the Empire record label on:
Instagram
Facebook
or SunCloud



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Episode #18: THE Tek Cortez

3/15/2022

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In this episode of The Who in the World podcast, I’d like you to meet my good friend and the Philippines' favorite musical busker, THE Tek Cortez, 
 
For those who don’t know (like I didn’t), busking is a word that describes street performance, whether its art or movement or music. 

And Tek Cortez is one of the Philippines favorite buskers, singing and strumming his guitar along Bonifacio High Street in the BGC area of Manila many evenings. 

 
​I first spotted Tek on Instagram when I lived in Manila back in 2018 and 2019 and became a big fan of his musical talent. Soon, we met in person on High Street and became good buddies, and now I’m also close with his family. 

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In a country that’s often stereotyped that everyone can sing like an angel (not true: only about 80% of Filipinos can sing great!), Tek’s love of music branches out beyond the norm. He’s actually a student of the Blues, and his tastes go into Depeche Mode, The Cure, and other alt-punk/rock far more than they do any pop music. 
 
Tek also doesn’t busk because he has to (he’s got a great job as a manager at a telecom firm nearby), but just to decompress and share his love of music and performance with those passing by on High Street. 
 
In this podcast, we chatted about his musical influences, the busking movement in the Philippines, what he loves most about playing for people, and even how he deals with drunks requesting songs!
 
As a special treat, I’ve included clips of some of his live busking performances there in the Philippines, so you can hear Tek play. 

 
Enjoy this podcast with my brother, THE Tek Cortez, and thanks for listening to the Who in the World Podcast! 
 
-Norm Schriever 

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Episode #17: Jay the World

1/12/2022

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I recently got back from a three-week trip to Medellin, Colombia. My first time in the country, I was lucky enough to meet a few other young expats and digital nomads from the U.S., albeit in their 20s – the next generation of Road Dogs.

​These guys were totally unique and interesting in their own way, with different backgrounds, motivations, and goals, but collectively they assured me that there are still some cool people worth celebrating out there.
 
So, I had the chance to sit down and chat with Jay “The World” as I call him, or Jay Caviel. 

Assigning any definitions to Jay is a fool’s errand, but we might as well try. He’s a Portland skater, creative genius who hated school, and went from selling weed to the iron workers union to corporate sales and tech recruiting.
 
Jay just recently moved to Medellin, Colombia on a whim, where he bought the biggest computer monitor I’ve ever seen and jumped into the world of FX or forex trading.
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(I had no idea what that was, but it’s a foreign currency trading – quite a complex and daunting undertaking). 

Now, he’s 100% locked in and focused on becoming an “all-star FX trader.” He speaks limited Spanish but will soon start an immersive nine-month course. He lives with locals and rides a bike around the city.
 
Jay is ready to learn how to surf and asked me extensively about Costa Rica, but admittedly can’t swim that great yet.
 
He’s fearless, disciplined, and balanced but with the wisdom of an old soul - a true lifestyle architect. 
 
Try putting him in a box, I dare ya…
It would need to be as big as the world.
 
It’s encouraging for me to see that there are people who travel and live abroad for the right reasons – not just to leverage comfort and pleasure at low prices, but to explore the world, experience other cultures, learn every day, humble themselves, and increase the vibe no matter where they are.
 
Enjoy this podcast interview with Jay, who doesn’t know where he’s going yet…but is on the exact right path.
 
-Norm Schriever ?
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Episode #16: John Abate

12/19/2021

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​In this podcast episode, please meet John Abate. I’ve known John all the way back to my post-college days back in Colorado, where we definitely saw some wild stuff and have some stories to tell.
 
John and I both happened to move to San Francisco years later and were friends there, where I always got a kick out of his bike messenger lifestyle and crowd.

​He went on to race semi-professionally for years in Encinitas before tragedy came on August 16th, 2016. 


​On that day, John was struck by car while on a cycling ride only one-half mile from his house. The impact sent him about 45 feet and 12 feet in the air, his body almost clipping a tree branch. The hit-and-run driver sped off, leaving him for dead on the side of the road.

​Just about everything in his body was broken, including his back that would need five vertebrae fused and serious internal bleeding.
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But he lived, defying the odds and amazing even his doctors, a testament to the incredible physical shape he was in, as well as a good amount of luck.
 
During the excruciating recovery and rehabilitation, found forgiveness and mindfulness as a way to heal, mind, body, and soul.
 
Particularly, he used a method called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) to aid his healing and send him on his spiritual journey, and became a certified teacher in MBSR.
 
In a recovery that would take most people years or even decades, John was somehow healed and up and walking within only four months. Of course, there was still a lot of work to do and rehabilitation, but John’s turning inward somehow sped his miraculous rehabilitation.
 
Now healthy, happy, and still enjoying athletics, John teaches MBSR and meditation workshops to individuals and companies, and even offers free courses for anyone who would benefit.
 
Long gone are the days of college antics and bike messenger wildlings, and the evolved man before us now concerns himself with helping others find compassion, forgiveness, and becoming aware of their true (higher) selves.
 
Enjoy this chat with John Abate and thanks for listening and subscribing to the Who in the World podcast!

-Your friend,

Norm :-)
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Episode #15: Jen Queen

12/1/2021

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Today on the Who in the World podcast I’m super stoked to have on my friend Jen Queen, who I met around 2015 when we both we’re living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

​Originally from Ohio before relocating to San Francisco, Jen is a world-class bartender and Mezcalier, the term for someone who’s an expert in Mexican mezcal spirits. 

​Similar to a sommelier with wines, my understanding is that Jen was only the 14th person in the world to earn that Mezcalier designation.

She went on to establish herself in San Diego before taking the huge leap of faith to move to the capital city with high-wire energy in the Kingdom of Cambodia, Phnom Penh.

​After years in PP working for La Familia, educating and collaborating with other local bars and industry folks, and plenty of ripping up the nightlife scene in a getaway tuk tuk, Jen moved on to Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Burma).

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There, she picked up where she left off as a Bar Manager for 57 Below and Union Bar & Grill in the vibrant British colonial city shrouded in mystery, which had just recently opened to the outside world again.

But political unrest in Myanmar forced her and her new bride to relocate, taking refuge during the pandemic back in the U.S. and Mexico. 

Now, Jen Queen has a bright and bold new chapter to her story in Hong Kong, the preeminent hub of everything food, drink, and bar related. 

From discussing her concepts on building culture to what makes a great bar to her day-off ritual (Fresh Cut Fridays and a bottle of So Co and lemons in a dark piano bar), seeing the world through Jen’s lens of experiences makes me want to pack my suitcase again – and order another round.

Enjoy this podcast and all hail the (Jen) QUEEN!

​-Norm :-)
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Episode #14: Gaspar

11/18/2021

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Meet Gaspar - the "Nicaraguan Ray Donovan" and one of my best friends.

​​One of the most memorable and positive experiences of my life was the year I lived in a local barrio in the sleepy seaside town of San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua. There, I met Gaspar, who was sort of like the patron saint of Barrio Chino – or, China Town. 
 
Gaspar grew up right there in Barrio Chino in the wake of the revolution and ensuing civil war in Nicaragua. With no father and a mother forced to cross the border into neighboring Costa Rica to take any work she could, he was forced to become self sufficient at a young age.
 
Soon, Gaspar began fighting in the streets, first with a lot of older kids and then even adults. His reputation as the toughest kid in the barrio and San Juan del Sur grew, but so did his aspirations for a better life.

​​Only a middle school student, Gaspar climbed the wall and broke into his own school at night.
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But he didn’t try to steal just anything or pocket things he thought he could sell. Instead, Gaspar broke into the school’s library and stole a big, virtually unused book: the English dictionary.
 
He began teaching himself one word per day, underlining it when he’d mastered it, and then, ten words and soon, forty per day. In short order, he was conversational in English in a time and place where few were. 
 
Despite his wild, hard drinking, knuckle bruising antics as a teenager and young adult, Gaspar simultaneously put himself through business school and then law school, becoming an attorney.
 
His new role as high-end "problem solver" for foreigners, the rich, and politically connected have earned him the nickname, "The Nicaraguan Ray Donovan."
 
These days, Gaspar is a family man, with a beautiful wife, Rebeca, a seven-year-old son, Gasparcito, and a newborn daughter who was less than a week old at the time of this recording, Luz (light).
 
Nothing much else has changed – he still lives in San Juan del Sur where he sells real estate, develops land, and has his sights on eventually becoming mayor, serving the people who both nurtured and sharpened him as a youth.
 
I started this humble Who in the World podcast to share the life stories of the remarkable, interesting, and downright crazy people I met around the world, and Gaspar is a prime example. 
 
In fact, his life story and these conversations bring to mind the famous quote by Mark Twain who said, “Travel is “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
 
Enjoy this podcast and some next-level real life shit with the one and only Gaspar.
 
-Norm Schriever
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Episode #13: Trevor Gibbs

10/24/2021

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​Today on the Who in the World Podcast, I have the pleasure of interviewing my good buddy, Trevor Gibbs.
 
Originally from Austin, Texas, Trevor studied engineering and actually completed his masters degree while living in Qatar. He went on to travel throughout the middle east, Europe, Latin and South America, and has 40-something countries under his belt (and we had a fun rivalry about who’s visited more countries.)

​I first met Trevor when we were both living down in Costa Rica in 2011, and actually followed him up to the seaside village of San Juan del Sur when he discovered the great surf, chill vibe, and low-priced tacos!
 
There in San Juan, he opened a famous café called Banana Hamacas, or Banana Hammocks! We’ve since hung out in Texas and Trevor most recently visited me in the Philippines a couple of years ago for an epic trip of island hopping.
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​I think you’ll enjoy his chill Texas drawl as much as you enjoy his wise words and worldly perspective.

 
It’s Trevor Gibbs for episode #13 of the Who in the World podcast!
 
-Norm
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    the Who in the World podcast w/
    ​Norm Schriever

    In this podcast, I’m going to chat with the interesting, remarkable, and sometimes downright crazy people I’ve met from my travels and time living abroad. 


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Norm Schriever

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