Rooted Wisconsin

From selling drawings to classmates as a kid to his current full time income being driven by his art, Ryan Ebert has always been a creator with an entrepreneurial spirit. Following 11 years as the Art Director for Hoard's Dairyman and Hay & Forage Grower Magazine, Ryan left his "comfortable" career to focus full-time on his art business. You can find him making some of the coolest fish decoys in the country, creat...

Amanda Miceli is an entrepreneur, creative, fashion designer, marketer, and speaker, on a personal mission to inspire and assist people in being their most authentic selves. The founder and CEO of the BOLD Marketing Agency, Amanda has not only built an incredible brand for herself, she does it for others as well. In this episode, Amanda and Brad discuss marketing and the importance (and definition) of a BRAND and how she builds the...

Tom Mosgaller is an author, experienced community builder, teacher, and leader who believes that the power of relationships is the cornerstone of strong, vibrant communities. Tom has led, taught, and coached community builders in the art of pulling together in places both big and small, urban and rural, locally, and internationally. He has celebrated successes and learned from setbacks that inspired the timeless lessons captured in...

Chris Mangless is a chef and restaurant owner whose version of art is shared through food and experience, and quite the artist he is. Walking through a door opened by a high school teacher has led Chris on a path of passion and excellence in his field. From becoming the Travelling Chef in his teens to feeding a laundry list of celebrities, athletes, and high profile business folks, one thing remains consistent for Chris. Excellence...

Rex Meikle is the Founder of Door Born, a lifestyle and apparel brand built to capture the beauty, sophistication, and charm of the Great Lakes (and, of course, Door County).

Attending UW-Stout to be a tech ed teacher (while having a football career cut short by concussions), like many, Rex thought he had his plan written. That was, until life does what it does. After a year of teaching in Kohler, he realized it wasn't his path...

Brandon Tschacher is one of Wisconsin's most visible leaders. He has been recognized as an “Executive to Watch” (2021) by the Milwaukee Business Journal, was named one of the “Philanthropic 5” by the United Way of Greater Milwaukee (2020), received the “National Exceptional Service Award" by the Salvation Army USA (2020), and was named a “40 Under 40” by the Milwaukee Business Journal (2018).

A Nintendo 64 dropped off by his Mother-...

Nate Jansky is an Instructor and Work-Based Learning coordinator with GPS Education Partners, a Wisconsin non-profit organization working in the space of work-based learning. A teacher dunking on the playground lit a spark of interest in education for Nate at a young age. Following that passion, he has built a career supporting students in the alternative education space.In this episode, Brad and Nate discuss his career as an educa...

Stephanie Grady is a 2x Emmy-winning journalist, former gold-medal-winning figure skater, and the CEO and co-founder of Influential Athlete. Her experience as a high-profile public figure, combined with her husband and co-founder Joe's decade of experience as an athletic director, uniquely positions them to help elite female student-athletes maximize NIL opportunities and build success beyond their sport.Throughout her career, Step...

Jake VandenPlas is the President and Founder of Door County Farm for Vets, a not-for-profit organization passionate about the value of local and sustainable food and farming practices, veteran's mental health, growing while healing, providing education and support to veterans, and the empowerment that comes with producing, growing, and harvesting your own food. In this episode, Brad and Jake talk about "accidentally" ...

Dalton Hessel's goal being  @thenorthernnerd3325  is to create a platform where stories are shared, art is composed, and community in the Northwoods of Wisconsin is experienced. A second grade teacher in Hayward, Dalton melds his professional and personal life as a Dad, Husband, and just overall good dude, into an online presence that authentically draws folks in. In this episode, Brad and Dalton discuss the evolution of the No...

Being raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan holds a special place in the hearts of Anders and Davin Lindwall. It almost pours out of them in conversation. Following formative years, both have been on a journey of creativity, of which the most recent product, "Green and Gold", tells the story of a farmer (Craig T. Nelson) who bets it ALL on the Packers. The brothers aim to tell the story of the unsung heroes who shape...

Nathan Deming is an award winning filmmaker from Wisconsin, based in Los Angeles, who got his Master's in Filmmaking at the London Film School. In addition to his feature work, he is working on a multi-year project called "The Year Project" about life in Wisconsin, based on months of the year. The second of twelve, "February", which recently won the top prize and audience award at the 2024 Wisconsin Film Fe...

Laken James is a professional basketball player, mentor, speaker, and advocate for empowering young female athletes. A decorated Wisconsin high school (Oconto), college (UWGB), and professional (Germany, Scotland, soon to be Australia) athlete who is also pursuing her PhD at the University of Edinburgh, Laken launched her Five Star Academy to give young female athletes the tools, mentorship, and inspiration to excel in sports, and...

Pat Cavanaugh was on a seemingly scripted career path in educational administration until his grade school friend, who was working for the Green Bay Packers, call with a lead on a job with the organization. Taking a calculated risk, Pat and his family moved to Wisconsin and never looked back. Following 5 years with the Packers, Pat was drawn to Jadin | Jones after reading (and gifting several copies of) the book, "The Twin Thieves...

Paul Yanzer is a research and development scientist and entrepreneur with several years of experience in the food and beverage space. In 2023, Paul and his wife Amy decided to start Forward Beverage with the intention of shifting the non-alcoholic drink space in Wisconsin (and far beyond). In this episode, Brad and Paul discuss Forward Beverage's first year and their products and scope, THC, CBD, hemp, and cannabis in Wisconsin, th...

A fixture in northeast Wisconsin news and sports television, Bill Jartz has spent nearly 45 years delivering stories to the people of Wisconsin. Born and raised in Clintonville, the self-described "hay shaker" was an all state football player who went on to play at Northwestern while pursuing a degree in journalism. In this episode, Bill and Brad chat about the early years, his time in front of the camera, being the gameday voice o...

Adam Krause is a Wisconsin based film writer and director, best known for being the creative force behind Gags the Clown, 2016 Viral sensation turned short, turned feature film. In this episode, Adam and Brad discuss how he got into filmmaking, what led up to Gags virally storming news stations and social media channels throughout the country, the short and the feature film, new projects coming up, and much more!

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Sarah Elizabeth Conery is a travel writer, content creator, and published author of the book, "100 Things to do in Green Bay Before you Die". Growing up in a small Upper Peninsula town, Sarah moved to Green Bay in 2015. In this episode, Sarah and Brad chat about becoming a published author, content creation and blogging, influencing, social media, and much more! https://creativeandambitious.com/ https://www.instagram.com/creative...