No Joke: Last Comic Standing Winner Alonzo Bodden Used to Be an Aircraft Mechanic

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Alonzo Bodden is one of the hardest-working and funniest working standup comics on the touring circuit today. He won Season 3 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing; he has four standup specials so far; he’s a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me!; he’s played a bouncer or a security guard in countless movies and TV shows; and he even voiced monsters on the Power Rangers. He’s been around.

But before he had anything to do with show business, Alonzo was an aircraft mechanic who got a job working for Lockheed Martin on the F-117 Nighthawk stealth bomber – one of the most advanced top secret aircraft in the world – when he graduated from Aviation High School in New York. At 18, he moved to Los Angeles, started making a lot of money, found himself in the throes of addiction, and wound up in jail.

The sound of the cell door slamming shut was his turning point.

In this episode, Alonzo shares details about his New York upbringing, his battle with addiction, his path to sobriety (36 years ago!), and how it all led him to find his calling: comedy.

He also shares the one hilarious joke he told at the 1997 Montreal Just for Laughs festival that immediately transformed him from a guy who did standup comedy to fully realized comic. You won’t want to miss it.

Wherever you live, Alonzo will be in a town near you sooner or later and seeing him live should be high on your priority list. Find him at www.alonzobodden.com.

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Minnesota Vikings Legend Fran Tarkenton Scores a Touchdown in the Tech World

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Fran Tarkenton is unquestionably one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game of football. A true legend who rightfully earned his place in the NFL Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame (for his championship career with the University of Georgia Bulldogs), and on the list of the 50 Greatest Minnesota Vikings AND the 50 Greatest New York Giants. In his rookie season in 1961, Fran joined an expansion team called the Minnesota Vikings, and in the first-ever Vikings game he threw four touchdown passes and ran for a fifth, upsetting the great Chicago Bears. At the time of his retirement from the NFL in 1978, Fran owned every significant passing record: 3,686 pass completions, 47,003 passing yards, and 342 touchdowns. Legend.

After retirement, Fran became a commentator alongside the one and only Howard Cosell in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth, he landed a job hosting That’s Incredible, one of the biggest sensation TV shows of the 1980s, and he became an early entrant into the software business, a visionary move that launched what would become the longest-lasting and most lucrative part of his illustrious and multifaceted career.

At 84.6 years old as of the date of this interview, Fran is as sharp – and as busy – as he’s ever been. His company, Tarkenton, is as highly regarded as it is successful in helping other businesses grow and prosper. All the incredible lessons he learned growing up, on the gridiron, in entertainment, and in his many business ventures coalesce into his leadership of Tarkenton to this day.

But Fran claims no responsibility for the success he’s achieved. He attributes it all to the coaching he’s received; in the NFL, from greats like Sid Luckman, Norm Van Brocklin and Bud Grant; and in business, from former IBM CEO John Akers to Walmart founder Sam Walton.

In this episode, Fran shares colorful stories about his journey from the streets of Washington, DC; to Athens, Georgia, home of UGA; to the NFL; to entertainment; and ultimately to a wildly successful business career.

You can learn more about Fran by Googling his name, and you can learn more about Tarkenton Companies by visiting www.tarkenton.com.

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Dan Spitz and The Persistence of Time: Thrash Metal Pioneer Turned Watchmaking Legend

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Dan Spitz is a true pioneer in every sense of the word. As the lead guitarist of legendary band Anthrax, Dan was one of the innovators who birthed the entire genre of thrash metal music. Anthrax is one of the “Big Four” thrash metal bands, a group that also includes Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. He sold millions of albums, played on the world’s biggest stages, and saw his music influence legions of acts that would follow.

In 1995, as Anthrax continued to reach new heights, something changed. Dan realized his heart was no longer in it, so he quit the band without a plan for what was next.

Dan had been exposed to watchmaking at a young age through his grandfather, who owned a jewelry store where he repaired watches in New York’s Catskill Mountains. That childhood experience came rushing back when he stumbled across an ad for the Bulova watchmaking school. The pieces fit together as perfectly as the mechanics of a complicated watch, and Dan enrolled, graduating a four-year program in 18 months. Then he became the first American to be accepted into a Swiss watchmaking school, and his incredible second act was official.

Today, Dan is one of the world’s most sought-after master watchmakers. He’s the watchmaker who watchmakers go to when they can’t solve a problem.

In this episode, you’ll hear some of the details about the birth of thrash metal, the conflict that led to Dan’s departure from Anthrax, and the journey that led a thrash metal legend become a legend in the world of fine watches.

You can learn more about Dan Spitz by visiting his website at www.delraybeachvintagewatches.com, and www.danspitz.com.

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Sam McKinlay Made an Abrupt Break From PR… and Became a Real Estate Rookie of the Year

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Sam McKinlay experienced something a lot of people can relate to in work and in life: she spent almost 25 years married… in her case, to a career that was exciting, fulfilling and rewarding. But over time she and the career she once loved grew apart from one another. They fell out of love and split up.

Sam faced plenty of adversity over the years: a series of poorly timed recessions in her native England; an initial move to America that landed her in Florida (which wasn’t a match for her); and later the clean break from a well-established career and a leap into the unknown.

After dipping her toe in the real estate waters, Sam found her calling. She was able to apply a surprising amount of her PR and marketing experience to launch a new career as a concierge real estate agent. And it worked! In her first year she earned a prestigious “Rookie of the Year” award from her broker.

In this engaging episode, Sam walks through the challenges she faced trying to find a meaningful career path early on; her journey through working for other people, then working for herself, then selling her firm and working for other people again; and the eventual abrupt end of her time working in PR.

You can learn more about Sam McKinlay by visiting her website at www.sammckinlay.com.

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PYTHON HUNTRESS! Amy Siewe Left Real Estate to Hunt Pythons in the Everglades

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Amy Siewe is the quintessential embodiment of how passion drives a second act.

She left a safe and lucrative career as a real estate broker to hunt pythons in the Everglades.

She proudly shares that she’s 5’ 4”, 120 lbs., and captures pythons as big as 180 lbs. by physically jumping on them and wrestling them into submission.

This is what pure passion looks like.

In this fascinating episode, Amy shares what motivated her to leave a relatively safe career selling real estate to become The Python Huntress.

In this wild ride, she shares how she became so interested in snakes, unbelievable accounts of actual hunts, how she built a business out of hunting pythons, why her role is necessary, and which of her two careers is more stressful.

Follow Amy Siewe, The Python Huntress, on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

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🚨SPECIAL ALERT🚨 Four Reasons To Vote For Second Act Stories in the Webby Awards

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Second Act Stories has officially defied the odds. We’ve been nominated for a Webby Award!

But our category is stacked with stiff competition: Michelle Obama, Sarah Silverman, TED Audio, Lemonada,  and Slate.

We need your vote! We can win this with your help.

Here’s how you vote:

  • Go to vote.webbyawards.com
  • Click the search button on the right-hand side of the screen, under the start voting button
  • Type in Second Act Stories
  • Click on our category in the search results
  • Click on our logo to cast your vote

All it takes is entering your email address and a password, and then clicking the validate button in the email you receive from the Webby’s. It’ll only take a minute.

Pretty amazing stuff.

The Case of Rachel Humphrey: Trial Attorney Turned Women’s Leadership Champion

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Rachel Humphrey was a trial attorney who was certain she would spend her entire career in front of judges and juries and eventually retire in a courtroom. After relocating from Virginia to Atlanta with her husband, she took a job at a firm where she represented clients in the hospitality industry, and that sparked a passion she didn’t know she had. The hospitality industry was interesting to her, and she thought that becoming involved with the associations that help the industry might be a great next step, but she had no real business experience at all.

Prompted by the unexpected departure of the nanny who took care of her children, Rachel decided to leave her job to be there for her young family. This also allowed her to do some serious soul searching and figure out what would come next.

A serendipitous conversation with Cati Stone, then the executive director of Komen Atlanta, opened Rachel’s eyes in ways she never could have imagined. As fate would have it, and what Rachel didn’t know, was that Cati happened to be a former trial attorney who moved into a role as an association executive. The advice Rachel got from Cati showed her that there was a viable – and possible – path to follow her passion.

Rachel networked her way into an executive role with AAHOA, the largest hotel owners association in the country, eventually ascending to the role of Interim CEO. After realizing a need for more diversity in the hospitality, she later founded the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance.

In this episode, Rachel shares her path from fighting legal battles to advocating for women, and all the trials that went along with her journey.

If you like this episode, you may also enjoy these episodes featuring former attorneys with incredible second act careers:

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Stuckey’s Gamble: Stephanie Stuckey Cashes in Her Future to Revive Her Family’s Iconic Roadside Brand

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Stuckey’s is a legendary and iconic thread in the fabric of Americana. Founded in Eastman, Georgia in 1937 by WS “Sylvester” Stuckey, Sr., Stuckey’s grew into a roadside empire by the 1970s, with 368 stores in more than 30 states. Part of the charm that made Stuckey’s so iconic were its ubiquitous billboards, more than 4,000 of them, which were dotted along U.S. highways. Stuckey’s was an inextricable part of what became known as “The Great American Road Trip.”

Fast forward to 2019, Stuckey’s was on life support. The brand had gone through hard times, and its former stand-alone locations, still identifiable by their teal blue roofs, were now relics of a bygone era. Some were abandoned and boarded-up; others became home to less-than-savory businesses. By this time the brand had changed hands multiple times and become an unprofitable line item on a bigger company’s balance sheet. But Stuckey’s was about to experience a surprising rebirth.

In 2019, former Georgia legislator Stephanie Stuckey, a practicing attorney at the time, received a fateful phone call. Stuckey’s, the brand started by her grandfather all those years ago, was up for sale. With no experience in running a business, 53-year-old Stephanie defied the odds (and the advice of virtually everyone she spoke to), cashed in her entire life’s savings, and traded her future to buy back and revive the business bearing her family’s name.

Since then, Stephanie has become a legend in the business community. A perfect storm of scrappiness, shrewd business sense and passion, she’s now a bone fide rock star with all the street cred to stage a successful turnaround. And she has the receipts to prove it. Under Stephanie’s leadership, Stuckey’s and its flagship pecan log rolls are back in black.

In this episode, Stephanie discusses growing up with an iconic last name, her career as a legislator and attorney, her decision to lay it all on the line to buy back her family’s business, how she’s rebuilt the brand, and what’s next for Stuckey’s.

Stephanie chronicles her life on the road at her Instagram account, @stuckeystop. Her new book, “UnStuck: Rebirth of an American Icon,” is available at Amazon or wherever you buy books.

If you like this episode, please check out some of our past episodes featuring female entrepreneurs:

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Best of 2023 Audience Pick: Brian “Q” Quinn’s Impractical Career Shift: Fireman to Funny Man

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Surprise, Second Act Stories fans! We have one more “Best of 2023” episode to share with you. It’s the episode you picked as your favorite of the year: our interview with Brian “Q” Quinn, who’s best known as one of the four stars of the smash hit TV show “Impractical Jokers.”

Currently in its 10th season on truTV, Q and lifelong friends Sal Vulcano and James “Murr” Murray (a fourth friend and member of the show, Joe Gatto, departed from the show last year) “compete to embarrass each other,” with hilarious results. It’s wildly popular because it doesn’t force you to think, and it’s guaranteed to make you laugh.

At the age of 36, Q was working as an FDNY fireman in Staten Island, New York, but then something incredible happened: Impractical Jokers was born and it took off like a rocket. It quickly became truTV’s highest-rated show, and it’s one of the most successful comedies on cable TV. After using all his available leave time from the fire department, Q was faced with a dilemma: stay with the FDNY, work his 20 years and retire with a pension, or leave his career behind to continue with the show?

In this episode, Brian Quinn talks about his career as a fireman, the tough decisions he faced when Impractical Jokers became successful, and some of the hilarious experiences he’s had as a star of the show.

Featured image credit: truTV/Warner Bros. Discovery

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For more about Impractical Jokers, visit them at www.trutv.com/shows/impractical-jokers

Fireman Brian Quinn in front of an FDNY truck. Photo credit: Brian Quinn
Brian “Q” Quinn with Post Malone on a recent episode of Impractical Jokers. Photo credit: truTV/Warner Bros. Discovery
Brian “Q” Quinn, Bret Michaels and Sal Vulcano on a recent episode of Impractical Jokers. Photo credit: truTV/Warner Bros. Discovery
James “Murr” Murray, Brian “Q” Quinn and Casey Jost on a recent episode of Impractical Jokers. Photo credit: truTV/Warner Bros. Discovery
Brian “Q” Quinn, John Mayer, Sal Vulcano and James “Murr” Murray on a recent episode of Impractical Jokers. Photo credit: truTV/Warner Bros. Discovery
Brian “Q” Quinn and podcast host Scott Merritt at Q’s office in Manhattan.

Best of 2023: Sweeter Days Ahead: How Baking Transformed Janie Deegan’s Life

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Second Act Stories annual “Best of” episodes give us an opportunity to re-share remarkable stories, and welcome new listeners by giving them a good taste of what we do here: profile people who have made major life and career changes to pursue a more rewarding life in a second act career. We’re selecting two “Best of 2023” episodes to share with you. Andy Levine selected his favorite interview conducted by co-host Scott Merritt in the past year,  and Scott is reciprocating this week. Scott’s pick for 2023 is “Sweeter Days Ahead: How Baking Transformed Janie Deegan’s Life.”

In 2009, Janie Deegan returned home from college with a serious alcohol and drug problem. Eventually, she found herself homeless and living on the streets of New York City.

Fast forward to today…she is the owner of “Janie’s Life Changing Baked Goods,” a thriving business with three, NYC bakeries and booming e-commerce division. At the center of her success is the “pie crust cookie” — essentially a baby pie that comes in five, different flavors. Her company and her cookies have been featured on Good Morning America, The TODAY Show, CNN and The New York Times.

The company is dedicated to helping other young women through mentorship and second chance employment. As Janie shares in the podcast, “The person you show up for at the interview is the person we’re looking at. We’re not doing background checks…we have formerly incarcerated employees, homeless staff and those with addiction problems. It’s been really beautiful to see how people blossom when they are given a chance.” 

Janie and the team at “Janie’s Life Changing Baked Goods.”

Interested in trying Janie’s pie crust cookies? They come in apple, pecan, triple berry, chocolate and cherry and can be ordered from www.JanieBakes.com.

Like her second act story, Janie’s “pie crust cookies” are truly amazing.