San Francisco People

Daisy Barringer is a freelance writer who loves the 49ers. Well......most of the time she loves them. They can also make her quite mad. You can follow along with @Daisy every Sunday on Twitter as she shares most of her thoughts during the game. That's how I found her. And I'm glad I did. Reading through Daisy's Twitter rants became one of my favorite Sunday traditions last season. On today's show, she shares how she became such a big 49ers fan and her prediction for the upcoming season. Aside from the 49ers, Daisy does a lot of great writing about San Francisco on Eater and Thrillist. We talk about her journey to becoming a writer and what some of her best pieces have been over the years. Daisy lives in Cole Valley. She shares her favorite spots in the hood and throughout San Francisco.

Stuart Schuffman, aka Broke-Ass Stuart, is a travel writer, TV host, and poet. His work has been published in Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveler, 7x7, and he's hosted a travel show on IFC. Stuart's website, brokeassstuart.com, has become one of the premiere arts and culture destinations for San Francisco and New York. On today's show, he talks about his early days as a travel writer, how he became Broke-Ass Stuart, and what inspired some of his most popular poems and stories. Stuart is also running for Mayor of San Francisco in the upcoming November election. He tells me why he's running, what his top priority would be once elected, and what neighborhood he's most confident he'll carry on election day. Stuart lives on the border of SOMA and the Mission, a neighborhood he calls the "Smission". He shares his favorite spots in the 'hood and throughout San Francisco.

Marcia Gagliardi is a restaurant columnist who writes the popular newsletter, Tablehopper. In the weekly newsletter, Marcia gives the scoop on new restaurant and bar openings, chef moves, and various other food and wine events in San Francisco. On today's show, Marcia shares her journey to becoming one of SF's most respected "foodies". She also shares some of her favorite restaurant recommendations in SF through a game we play.....I give Marcia a scenario and she gives me the perfect restaurant for it. Marcia lives in NOPA. She shares her favorite spots in the 'hood and throughout San Francisco.

Lark Miller is a personal fitness trainer and founder of Infinite Fitness in downtown SF. He grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and competed at a high level in cross country skiing, mountain biking, and cycling. Lark spent some time as a life coach but found his true calling as a personal fitness trainer. He jump-started his own business by going door-to-door in Noe Valley and inviting his neighbors to work out with him on the street. Once Lark started building clients, he found a space in the Bently Reserve downtown and opened Infinite Fitness. On today's show, Lark gives some tips to healthy San Franciscans on how they can be even healthier. He also talks about his recent experience being nominated as one of SF's "Hottest Trainers". Lark lives in the Duboce Triangle. He shares his favorite spots in the 'hood and throughout San Francisco.

Greg Dewar is the author of a local blog, The N-Judah Chronicles. It all started 10 years ago, when he sent an email to a few friends about all the things that went wrong on his Muni ride that day. The email got forwarded, continued getting forwarded, and eventually went viral. From there, Greg started a blog to share all his daily adventures and musings on SF’s public transportation lines. Over the years, he became a go-to resource for current events happening in the public transportation world and an advocate for improving the systems. Greg has even expanded the blog to share his thoughts on local political happenings. The blog has won a few awards, including “Best Local Blog” in the 2008 San Francisco Bay Guardian’s “Best of the Bay” edition. On today’s show, Greg shares his funniest and most shocking stories from his rides on Muni. Greg lives in the Inner Sunset. He shares his favorite spots in the 'hood and throughout San Francisco.

Alexandra Kostoulas is an award-winning writer who teaches creative writing in the City. She’s been teaching the Jack Grapes’ Method Writing Program for a number of years. This program helps students find what’s called their “Deep Voice” and she explains more about this on the show. Alexandra has also recently launched the San Francisco Creative Writing Institute to teach even more creative writing methods. This podcast is great for anyone who wants to write more but is struggling or having a hard time getting started. Alexandra shares some tips by going through the routines, processes, and tools that have helped her become a better writer. My favorite part of the interview, however, was when Alexandra talked about her own writing. She tells me about the novel she’s finishing up, Persephone Stolen, and then does an on-air reading of one of her poems, Los Angeles of my Youth. I had read the poem before our interview and thought it was beautiful. But hearing Alexandra give the backstory and read it from across the table has been one of my favorite podcast moments. Alexandra lives in NOPA. She shares her favorite spots in the 'hood and throughout San Francisco.

Sarah Cooper has some tricks to help you appear smart in meetings. She posted these tricks on Medium last year and the post went viral with 3 million views. With the success of the post, Sarah launched her own satirical blog called the Cooper Review. The Cooper Review features weekly original articles, videos, and cartoons on corporate humor, news, and other stuff. The blog has been very successful, averaging 10,000+ views per day. But Sarah's path to success has not been so straight forward. Throughout her life, she's bounced between more typical roles in Corporate America and continuously trying new things to discover her creative passion. She's been a graphic designer for Yahoo and Google, an actress, and a stand up comedian. On today's show, Sarah shares her journey and some of her favorite highlights along the way. Sarah lives in the Haight. She shares her favorite spots there and throughout San Francisco.

Brianna Haag is the founder of The Mr. Marina Competition and she does it all in the name of charity. In 2008, Brianna found out her Dad had been diagnosed with leukemia. She made the decision to do something about it. Brianna connected with the local chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and started fundraising for them. She was extremely successful and was nominated for the San Francisco Woman of the Year award in 2012. As part of this award nomination, Brianna launched a 10-week fundraising campaign that included the Mr. Marina Competition. The event was a huge success and ultimately led to Brianna winning the award for Woman of the Year. She has put on a Mr. Marina Competition every year since and raised over $500,000 for the LLS. We talk about some of the funniest moments from all the competitions and I try to find out more about one of her guest judges, Marina Girl Says. Brianna lives in the "Russian Hill side of Cow Hollow". We talk about her favorite spots in the hood and throughout San Francisco.

Travis Sigley is the founder of Cuddle Therapy. If you are in need of some cuddling and willing to pay a fee, this is the service for you. The idea for a professional cuddling service came to Travis when he was a stripper in the City. He noticed that most people were not in the club for sexual reasons, but because they were seeking intimacy, touch, and someone to chat with. So Travis started Cuddle Therapy to offer his clients physical touch in a safe, loving, and trusting environment. If Travis could cuddle with anyone in San Francisco, who would it be? He tells me on the show. Travis had plenty of other interesting stories up his sleeve. About two weeks ago, he started wearing shirts for the first time in 8 years and had a topless tea party to celebrate the occasion. The shirtless era led to plenty of awkward moments. Travis tells me about spending a winter in Paris and trying to get through airport security without a shirt. We recorded our conversation at the Tea Oasis, which is a tea house in the Lower Haight that Travis just opened up. Travis also lives in the Lower Haight. He shares his favorite spots in the neighborhood and throughout San Francisco.

Eric Waisman is the founder of Jaunty, an organization that educates people on social intelligence and people skills. Eric's goal is to teach people to talk to anyone, anytime, and anywhere. He was born in San Francisco but grew up most of his life in Marin County. His parents are from Israel and he spent a lot of time there as a kid. His family in Israel was really open, loud, and comfortable with each other. As a result, Eric became very socially comfortable at a young age. In high school and college, he always had a curiosity about social intelligence and even started a life coaching business on the side. When he entered Corporate America as a financial planner, he got even more training on interacting with people and understanding why they behave in certain ways. He eventually connected all the dots and founded Jaunty in 2013. Eric also has a lot of expertise on the "science of attraction". On the show, he talks about why we're attracted to certain people and why they're attracted to us. Eric lives in North Beach. He shares his favorite spots there and throughout SF.

Ronnie Goodman is a homeless artist who received a lot of attention recently for running the San Francisco Half Marathon. His story has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Today Show, and he was trailed by ESPN film crews during the run. Ronnie has been through many challenges in his life. He was raised in the projects, dropped out of high school at 17, and was illiterate into his 20's. At one point, Ronnie became a drug addict which eventually led to him spending 8 years in prison. But when Ronnie hit rock bottom, he decided to turn his life around with the help of several rehabilitation programs in prison. After becoming a free man, he immediately entered the homeless community in San Francisco. Ronnie remained drug free and continued focusing on positive, daily choices in his life. He continued developing as an artist through Hospitality House and decided to run the second half of the San Francisco Marathon to celebrate his 54th birthday. By the time Ronnie crossed the finish line, his story had become a national media sensation. Ronnie's art career is also taking off. In June, his solo art show "Soul Journey" will open at the San Francisco Main Library.

Fayette Fox recently published her first novel, "The Deception Artist". The book is literary fiction about childhood and make-believe, truth, and lies. It's told through the eyes of an eight-year old girl named Ivy who has a vivid imagination and tells lies so that people will like her. Ivy is telling the story of her ordinary family life in the Bay Area during the 1980's recession. But just like many other ordinary families, Ivy's family has some problems and things start to come a bit unraveled at home. The book was originally published in the UK by Myriad Editions in 2013 and was just published in North America by Roaring Forties Press. Fayette's debut novel has received great reviews and been short listed for several awards. Fayette has also lived in London where she commissioned guide books for Lonely Planet. She has traveled the world and shares some of her favorite stories on the show. Fayette recently moved to Oakland but lived in the Lower Haight before that. She shares her favorite spots in the hood and throughout San Francisco.

Jake Levitas is trying to make San Francisco a better place for everyone. He's an urban planner and specializes in a concept called urban prototyping. A few years ago, Jake gave a TedX talk on the subject called "The Revolution will be Prototyped". Jake helps organize urban prototyping festivals where citizens come together and attempt to fix a problem or improve an area within the City. They take their ideas all the way to a built prototype that gets displayed for the public to see, test, and provide feedback on. Jake is currently working on the Market Street Prototyping Festival. From April 9-11, 50 prototypes will be displayed for the public along Market Street from Van Ness to the Embarcadero. The goal is simple; make this section of Market Street a more interactive and positive experience for everyone who uses it. Jake lives in Berkeley. He shares his favorite spots there as well as throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Meghan Arnold is the author of a local blog, Brew to Bay. The blog originally started when Meghan moved from Milwaukee to San Francisco and she wanted to chronicle her transition. My favorite part of Brew to Bay is Meghan's alternative to New Year's resolutions. This year, she calls it the 35 by 36. It's the 35 goals she wants to accomplish before her 36th birthday. Each year, she publishes a new list on her birthday and then holds herself accountable throughout the year by posting routine updates. And these are not small goals! Last year, Meghan set a goal to run her first marathon and she did it. Her follow up post, "26.2 Thoughts on my First Marathon" is my favorite one on the site. Megan also has an interesting career which takes us into the world of typeface and font design. She also puts on an annual design conference called TYPO San Francisco. Meghan lives in the Upper Haight. She shares her favorite spots in the hood and throughout San Francisco.

From patent law to Austin to Tinder, Bonnie Grant and I talk about it all on episode 10! As a patent attorney, Bonnie has worked on a variety of interesting cases including new zipper designs and a Nike versus Adidas battle. She has also successfully defended clients against notorious patent trolls. Bonnie is originally from Austin, Texas and moved to San Francisco two years ago. She compares those two cities and discusses some of the challenges she faced when moving here. Surprisingly, finding an apartment was not one of them. Finding a place to park and walk her dog were problems. However, Bonnie adjusted quickly and soon joined her fellow San Franciscans enjoying walks through our beautiful city and dating on Tinder. Yep, we talk Tinder on today's episode and Bonnie's story is perfect for the upcoming Valentine's Day weekend! Bonnie lives in Laurel Heights. She shares her favorite spots in the neighborhood and throughout San Francisco.

Nathan Amy brought a gym to the beach. In fact, he can bring a gym anywhere in San Francisco. With his new fitness company Kokoda, Nathan uses a mobile fitness truck to bring a gym to you. The truck is loaded up with tons of fitness equipment. Nathan can pull in to any location, unload his equipment, and set up a fully functional gym in a matter of minutes. Most of the time, his gym is set up at East Beach right next to Crissy Field. He leads classes there six days per week. I recently joined Nathan at East Beach for his Functional Fitness class. Let me tell you, it did not feel like I was at the gym. On a crystal clear evening, I worked out as the sun set over the Golden Gate Bridge and a light breeze blew in from the bay. The view was incredible and the workout was intense. I was still feeling it a few days later! Nathan's journey to starting up Kokoda is an interesting one. He grew up in the Australian Outback and joined the army at the age of 17. After leaving the army, he worked various jobs in the private security sector in Kabul, Afghanistan. At a United Nations barbecue, he met the love of his life and that led him to San Francisco. Nathan lives in the Marina and shares his favorite spots there and throughout San Francisco.

Megan Mokri is reinventing the weeknight meal in the suburbs. In September 2014, Megan and her husband Lee launched 180Eats. 180Eats delivers simple, healthy meals "on demand" to homes in Marin County. In the short time since the company launched, they have delivered over 3,000 meals. One of those meals made it across the Golden Gate Bridge to my house. I dig into it "live" during the show as Megan explains the evolution of the meal from farm to my table. Megan didn't come up with the idea for 180Eats by sitting on the couch and hoping a big idea would pop into her head. Rather, the idea was a culmination of Megan's many entrepreneurial pursuits over the years. And when she got the idea for 180Eats, she had already built up the skills to turn idea into reality. Megan shares her journey on today's show and provides a few tips to aspiring entrepreneurs. I'll give you a hint......"Don't ignore the bug". Megan lives in Mill Valley. She talks about her favorite spots there, throughout Marin, and in San Francisco.

In episode 7, Sommelier Pete Passaris put his skills to the test in a blind wine tasting. The rules were simple. I picked out 4 red wines and poured them for Pete. Pete knew nothing about these wines. They could be from anywhere in the world, any grape varietal, and cost anywhere from $2 to $200. Relying only on the sight, smell, and taste of the wine, Pete had to guess the bottle. He had to name the varietal, country & region, vintage, and price. How is this even possible? Pete says it’s like solving a puzzle. He takes us through a tasting grid and his thought process to fit all the pieces together. So how did Pete do? You’ll have to listen to find out but I was certainly impressed! At the beginning of the show, Pete walks us through the process to becoming a certified Sommelier. He also talks about the small business he started, Wine with Pete that teaches people more about wine in a fun atmosphere.

In this episode, I went down to City Hall and interviewed Supervisor Mark Farrell who represents District 2 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Farrell is a native San Franciscan and he absolutely loves this City! He talked about what it was like growing up here including his experience in the 1989 earthquake. I enjoyed hearing his story on why he decided to run for the Board of Supervisors in 2010. At the time, he was a relative unknown to SF political insiders but managed to pull off the big upset. He brings a wealth of experience from the private sector into City Hall through his work as an attorney, investment banker, and the venture capital firm that he co-founded. He shares his proudest accomplishments from his first term and what his top priorities are for San Francisco in his upcoming term. Supervisor Farrell lives in the Jordan Park neighborhood with his wife and three children. He shares his favorite places in District 2 and throughout San Francisco.

Kimberly Gomes is a local freelance writer who has been published in the San Francisco Chronicle and The Bold Italic. I came across one of her articles in The Bold Italic called “A Guide to SF’s Shittiest Streets”. Yep, it’s about poop. In fact, the article details which blocks in San Francisco have the most of it laying around. And you won’t believe the backlash this article generated in the comments section! This led me to read more of Kimberly’s articles and some of her creative writing. After that, I knew I had to get her on the show! Join me as Kimberly shares her path to getting published in some of SF’s most prestigious media outlets and the background on some of her best stories. She also provides a sneak peak at her first novel which is currently under development. Kimberly lives in San Bruno but spends most of her time in San Mateo and San Francisco. On the show, she shares her favorite spots in each area.

Last month marked the 25th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco. How much do you know about the events from October 17, 1989? Until digging into the story, I didn't realize just how close we were to losing the Marina district that day. On today's episode, I talk with three long time SF residents who were here during the earthquake. Peter McKenna, Gail Goldyne, and Frank Blackburn share their amazing story of what it was like in San Francisco when the ground started shaking.

When it comes to the San Francisco real estate market, you should listen to what Helena Zaludova has to say. With over 10 years of experience, she has become one of the top real estate agents in The City. Last year, Helena closed 18 transactions with a total value of $35 million. This puts her in the top 2% of all agents in San Francisco. Helena walks us through the current state of the market and what's driving it. She also gives her insight on whether it's time for you to buy and what steps you can take to get going. Helena lives in the Portola neighborhood. She shares her favorite spots in her neighborhood and what she loves most about San Francisco.

Heather McGough is a person that takes big ideas and turns them into reality. Heather is the successful founder of Urbanity Events, an event production company specializing in tech and startup conferences, speaker series, and launch parties in the Bay Area and beyond. She's also had a big impact in the non-profit world, including her time as Deputy Director for City of Dreams. Join me as Heather shares her story and all her favorite spots in North Beach. I will also tell the story of my recent climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa.

Rob Hunter is a co-founder of Focused Apps whose popular Hit Tennis series has been downloaded by 35 million people. Rob and I talk about his journey from struggling app writer to successful entrepreneur and what he loves about San Francisco.