Episodes

Thursday Mar 30, 2023
Laurent Grenouiller
Thursday Mar 30, 2023
Thursday Mar 30, 2023
Bonjour à tous, et bienvenue à nouveau à mon podcast sur le voyage et le tourisme, My First Season. J'ai rencontré mon invité aujourd'hui à Kusadasi, en Turquie, au cours de l'été 2001 et je suis heureux d'annoncer qu'il était mon chef de village cette saison-là et qu'il est le premier chef de village français à participer au podcast! Sa première saison a eu lieu en 1987 à Avoriaz en tant que moniteur de ski. Il a travaillé dans des villages tels que Kamarina, Opio, Yasmina, Marbella, Eilat, Puerto Maria et Pompadour, pour mentionner que quelques-uns. Avant de devenir lui-même Chef de Village, Laurent a travaillé pour des Chef de Village comme Jean Philippe Yvert, Patrick Calvet, Yves Mongis, Françoise Gravière, Mehdi Serrour, Juvenal Da Cunha et Lionel Benzoni. Pendant toute sa carrière au Club Med, il a travaillé dans 20 villages au total et jamais deux fois dans le même village. Sa première saison en tant que chef de village s'est déroulée à Eilat, en Israël, et nous parlerons de cette expérience et de bien d'autres choses encore. Merci de m'aider à accueillir, depuis la France, Laurent Grenouiller! **Le podcast My First Season a toujours été sans publicité et son écoute est gratuite. Il est disponible sur: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora et Listen Notes. Et si vous aimez ce que vous entendez, veuillez laisser un commentaire sur Apple Podcasts.

Monday Mar 27, 2023
Rich Reichman
Monday Mar 27, 2023
Monday Mar 27, 2023
I met my guest today in Club Med Playa Blanca in 1997 when he was a G.M. and I was a Landsports G.O. It is because of this podcast that he reached out to me roughly 25 years later. He said that meeting me and the Rock Climbing G.O. in Playa Blanca, Claude Gagnon, inspired him to apply to Club Med. His first season was in Club Med Ixtapa in May of 1997 as an Archery G.O., with “Toutoune” as the CDV and “Godo” as the Chief of Sports. From Montreal and now living in Alberta, please help me welcome to the show, Rich Reichman!! Rich only did one season in Club Med and explains why at the end of the interview. Luckily for us, he has a very vivid memory of that first season! Rich is kind enough to share a lot of stories with us. Knowing there was not a weight room in Ixtapa, Rich brought two 70-pound detachable dumbbells in his suitcase!! I love this story so much that I asked Rich to not spare any details!! Other stories are Rich getting an archery injury early on in his season (but not what you’re thinking), a nerve-wracking sports demonstration set to the tune of Bryan Adams’ Everything I Do (I Do It For You), to an animation prank gone awry, to a Fire and Water show wardrobe malfunction, to hanging out with Blair Underwood, Rich has got some stories! For the last 14 years, Rich has been a Unit Manager in the ER, ICU, CCU, Medicine, and Operating Room and is currently in Endoscopy and we talk a little about that. Blair the nurse in Ixtapa was partly Rich’s inspiration for becoming a nurse himself and we delve into that as well. We talk about the 3 things he misses the most about Club Med and his favorite Crazy Sign. If you were a 90s G.O., then this episode is for you! Please enjoy this interview with Rich! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Monday Mar 20, 2023
Jo Moore
Monday Mar 20, 2023
Monday Mar 20, 2023
My guest today worked for Club Med from 1989 to 2004 and her first season was in Club Med Sandpiper in 1989/1990 as a Baby Club G.O. She worked her way up to Chief of Baby and Petit Club and was also a Child Care/ Circus HR manager as well as the Child Care Regional Manager. From British Columbia, Canada, please help me welcome Jo Moore!! Before Club Med, Jo worked in a YMCA summer camp that was just like Club Med, the only difference was that it did not have a bar! Jo went to Club Med Ixtapa as a G.M. on vacation when she was 18 years old. There she met two future Chief of Villages you may have heard of, who were in their very first season: Kevin Batt and Steve Riely. Jo worked in villages such as Punta Cana, Eleuthera, Ixtapa, St. Lucia, Crested Butte and Paradise Island. Jo shares so many funny stories and my personal favorite would have to be that she might have been the only woman in the world who did not know who Lenny Kravitz was when she met him in Club Med Eleuthera in 1990! Other stories Jo shares are playing "Six Degrees of Separation" at dinner with astonishing results, taking a four-foot swan dive off the stage in Sandpiper, “Kids in a Kenton Village”, and fond happy hour memories in K building in Eleuthera. Jo tells us what it was like opening the village of Crested Butte in 2000/2001 and what her experience was working at the corporate offices of Sandpiper and Miami from 1997 to 2000. At the end of the interview, Jo talks about her website, “Expandingjoy.love”, which sells t-shirts and hoodies and is a place “where each person is encouraged to live their happiest life based on what makes them happy”. Please enjoy this episode with an amazing person!! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.
Please visit Jo’s website below and consider your next gift-giving idea here!
ExpandingJoyDesigns - Etsy Canada
And her social media:

Monday Mar 13, 2023
Hansel Moss-Part 2
Monday Mar 13, 2023
Monday Mar 13, 2023
As promised, he is back for more!! My guest today is from Nassau, Bahamas and we met in Club Med Columbus Isle in January of 1996. His first season was in Club Med Paradise Island in 1980 as a Sailing G.O. Please help me welcome back to the podcast, the amazing and hilarious, Hansel Moss! Hansel’s Club Med story (from 1980-1992) cannot be contained in just one episode and the fact that I call him a dear friend after having the pleasure of working with him for two and a half years. In this episode, Hansel recounts how he met Hamer, Cheez, and Jenner in Club Med Moorea and started their Club Med careers. He tells a very strange story involving JoJo the dolphin from Turks AND actor Danny Glover. As Chief of Sports, Hansel is very proud of the “Miami Vice” show at the pool he put on in Club Med St. Lucia that took four weeks of prep for rehearsals and set building. He is equally proud of the huge “World Wide Wrestling” event in Club Med Playa Blanca that he staged there with Red as Hulk Hogan and Jenner as The Ultimate Warrior. Hansel recounts how crazy Club Med Cancun was back in the 80s on Mexican night and we talk about how Hansel trained me with iron for two and half years and turned a skinny Canadian into an absolute beast! (Hansel’s training methods were absolutely medieval in the best way!). We also talk about L.P. and how Hansel used to tease me (in a good way) about how incredible L.P. was. We talk about his bicycle rental, Flex Gym, and sports bar "The Zone" in San Salvador and the good news that Columbus Isle finally reopened on October 22, 2022! I hope you enjoy this second interview with a great and charming man! **My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora, and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.
If you missed his first interview, please see below:
My First Season-Hansel Moss | My First Season

Monday Mar 06, 2023
Carlos Castro
Monday Mar 06, 2023
Monday Mar 06, 2023
I never had the pleasure of working with my next guest, but I did hear his name throughout my career in Club Med and in the two years of this podcast, his name has come up quite frequently. His first season was in Club Med Marbella, Spain in 1979 as a Watersports trainee. He worked for Club Med from 1979 to 2004 (25 years!) in more than twenty different Club Med villages. Who am I talking about? Well, it’s the one and only legendary, Carlos Castro!! Before Club Med, Carlos traveled abroad since he was only nineteen years old and moved to France to learn the language, right after university. After only two seasons on the sports team, he became a Chief of Sports in Fort Royal, Guadeloupe. His first village as a Chief of Village was in 1984 in Eilat, Israel. Carlos worked in villages such as Itaparica, Rio das Pedras, Djerba La Douce, Playa Blanca, Cherating, Otranto, Copper Mountain, Bali and Bodrum, to only name a few. Carlos worked with Chief of Villages such as Jacky Amzallag, Alain Decouan, Myriam Karaohanessian, Guy Lagoutte, Pierre Hermet, and Pierre-Jean Laplace, to name but a few. He was the Chief of Village that opened my favorite place in the world; Lindeman Island in 1992, so of course I have to know what that was like. Carlos also describes where he met his future wife and how he proposed to her in Thulhagiri in the Maldives in 1985. I of course assumed he had proposed on the beach like many other Chiefs of Villages have done, but I was sooo wrong! (you have to hear this story!). Carlos’s last season as a CDV was in Paradise Island in 1999 and we talk about his transition to the Miami office and his role as an Events Producer and working in Promotions and Sales. He tells us the three things he misses most about Club Med and is the first guest in over two years to give us an extraordinary surprise at the end of the interview! So, please make sure you listen all the way to the end and no fast forwarding!! Please enjoy this interview with a Legend! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Monday Feb 27, 2023
“Fergy”
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Monday Feb 27, 2023
I never had the pleasure of working with my next guest but I did hear about him when I was working for Club Med. His name came up on Dean Barbour’s episode and a chance encounter at Red’s birthday party during the summer of 2022 clinched the deal, so to speak. He is from Montreal, Quebec and in Club Med he was known as…Fergy!! Please help me welcome to MFS, Mario “Fergy” Ferguson! Fergy’s first season was in Club Med Martinique in 1988 as Landsports. Fergy worked for Club Med from 1988 to 1997 in such villages as Cancun, Huatulco, Sonora Bay, Eleuthera, Sandpiper, Turks & Caicos and even Waterville in Ireland! Fergy went to Club Med Guadeloupe as a G.M. when he was 18 years old and had such a great time that he knew he wanted to work for Club Med. Fergy knew he would have to learn English to work for Club Med, so he moved to Vancouver for six months to immerse himself there in the language. He applied to Club Med from Vancouver but had to go back to Montreal for the interview and the rest is history. Fergy has a ton of funny stories that I don’t even want to tease them here, you’ll just have to listen to this amazing interview! He mentions many names from the past of people he enjoyed working with and the three things he misses most about Club Med. He also shares a story about how he met his wife in Montreal and might not have met her had he not learned how to catch for the flying trapeze in Club Med Eleuthera in 1994, by the late, great Darwin Hamilton. **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Thursday Feb 23, 2023
Bruno Schwab
Thursday Feb 23, 2023
Thursday Feb 23, 2023
Bonjour à tous, et bienvenue à nouveau au podcast sur le voyage et le tourisme, My First Season. J'ai rencontré mon invité aujourd'hui sur le groupe Facebook «Club Med Le Groupe des G.O.'s». Il a travaillé pour le Club Med de 1986 à 1988. Sa première saison a eu lieu en 1986 à Djerba la Douce, et il a travaillé dans des villages tels que Cap Skirring, Turquoise, Metaponto, Pompadour et Les Restanques à Saint Tropez. Il était un moniteur de tennis et un responsible de tennis aussi. Il a travaillé pour des Chefs de Villages tels que Jean Philippe Hiver, Josanne «Jojo» Desmartes, Éric Georges, Ricardo Gonzalez, Gamounet et Jean-Pierre Grand. Il est également le propriétaire de «Planet Show Evenements», et nous en parlerons à la fin de l'entrevue. Joignez-vous à moi pour souhaiter la bienvenue à Bruno Schwab de Paris! Le podcast Ma première Saison a toujours été sans publicité et gratuit à écouteret est disponible sur Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.
Veuillez cliquer sur le lien ci-dessous pour visiter le site web de Bruno Schwab:
animations evenements,animation mariage,soire casino,DJ (planetshowevenements.com)

Monday Feb 20, 2023
Erin Phillips
Monday Feb 20, 2023
Monday Feb 20, 2023
Hello everyone, this is part 5 in the MFS series “Amazing Women Doing Amazing Things”. I came across my guest today by reading an article of hers published in “Outside” magazine in November 2022, entitled, “Let Me Tell You the Truth About Being an Adventure Guide”. From that article, I learned about a course that she had taken called “National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)”. The course lasted 89 days, and of course, I had to ask her all about it. She is a backpacker, rock climber, experienced wilderness guide, writer, photographer, trail runner, certified Yoga instructor, and watercolor artist (she makes me wonder what I’ve done with my life!). She is also a seasoned wilderness-therapy guide and very passionate about supporting mental health. Please help me give a very warm welcome to an amazing person, Erin Phillips! We cover a lot in this interview, from her early life in Maryland to her website-Erin Marie Design, where you can see her beautiful photos, paintings, and her personal writings. We also cover how Erin pitched her idea for an article to “Outside” magazine and how much she loved the entire process from conception to publication. Erin is also doing an editorial internship with Jaunt Media Collective, based out of Vail, Colorado, interviewing people and writing about their life experiences. She is also interested in creating a book as a tribute to the Guiding community, about why they love it and the challenges that come with the lifestyle. So, if you are a wilderness guide or know someone who is and might be interested in sharing their story, please reach out to Erin via her website (see below). **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.
Please check out Erin’s website to find her published articles, photography, paintings and to submit your adventure guide story:
Share Your Story | Erin Marie Designs
And her Instagram:
Erin Phillips (@erinmp93) • Instagram photos and videos
Her article in Outside magazine:
https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/essays/adventure-guide-seasonal-job-testimonial/

Monday Feb 13, 2023
Chris “Hammer” Keeley
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Monday Feb 13, 2023
In two years of this podcast, today’s guest’s name has come up so often when I ask them which Chief of Village they liked working with, that I had to reach out and ask if he would like to come on. He has done 39 seasons in Club Med and 14 years in the Miami office where he currently holds the position of Senior Director UDT (University des Talents). In Club Med, he is known by only one name and in fact, he is the only Club Med employee around the world that has a nickname in their Outlook address. I can only be talking about one man, from Vancouver, it’s the one and only, the legend himself, Chris Keeley, AKA "Hammer"!! Hammer first learned about Club Med from his friend and EXGO, Sparrow, who had visited Club Med with his parents. Hammer actually had two first seasons, one short-team season in Moorea and one full season in 1989 in Club Med Turks and Caicos. He held many different G.O. positions over the years such as Waterski, Beach, Golf, Animator, Sports & Animation Coordinator, Chief of Sports and of course, Chief of Village. This interview covers his career from his first season as a Sports G.O. up until his last season as Chief of Sports. Hopefully, he will return at a later date for another interview, and there we will cover his first season as a Chief of Village. Before he became one of the most respected Chief of Villages ever, Hammer worked in villages such as Turks and Caicos, Playa Blanca, Cancun, Martinique, Sonora Bay, Phuket and Lindeman Island. In this interview, Hammer mentions a lot of names from the past you will recognize, people that mentored and inspired him. We also get into the origins of his famous nickname, and I’ll bet that you didn’t know it was given to him by a former NFL player! Not only does Hammer have a ton of great Club Med stories, but I also asked him about competing in Iron Man competitions and what that was like (he did his first one in 2015 in Mont Tremblant!). We also talk a little about what he is currently doing in Miami and how Club Med established itself as a premium brand and now offers a luxury range with the Exclusive Collection. We end the interview with the three things he misses the most about working in the villages. Please enjoy this interview with an amazing person!! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Monday Feb 06, 2023
James “Joker” Cradle
Monday Feb 06, 2023
Monday Feb 06, 2023
My guest today is the first guest invited back to the podcast. Why is that, you ask? Well, he was the first guest ever on My First Season just over two years ago, but back then, I stuck to the script. Meaning, we only talked about his first season and none of the other 10 seasons or more that he did. He was kind enough to be a test subject of sorts for my podcast, and like all things, My First Season has only evolved from that very first interview with him. He has agreed to come back to the podcast and talk about his other seasons and make you laugh your butts off! From Boston, Massachusetts, now living in Montreal, please help me welcome back to My First Season, James “Joker” Cradle!! I have known Joker for 23 years now and counting and we met on the dock in beautiful Lindeman Island, Australia in 2000 for the very first time. Joker worked for Club Med from 1997 to 2005. He worked in villages such as Cancun, Huatulco, Cefalu, Moorea, Foca, Paradise Island, Punta Cana, and Ixtapa. You want funny stories?! Joker has them!! From getting a nasty head injury during a show in Moorea to the famous “Singles Mingles” cruise in Lindeman Island (The CDV sent me on the cruise to control Joker's enthusiasm). How did that turn out? Like you’d expect! From the Kusadasi (Greg) versus Foca (Joker) G.O. volleyball game during the summer of 2001 to a Razor scooter wipe-out at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island to an interesting choice of dress (or lack thereof) for the Christmas party at Hendel’s place in Cancun in December 2004, it’s all here!! Joker mentions a lot of people from the past that he enjoyed working with, his three favorite Crazy Signs of all time (Tiffany?!), and the three things he misses most about working at Club Med. Hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane with Joker!! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.
This is the video (part 1) where France’s Woman’s Olympic Beach Volleyball team handed our butts to me and Joker in Lindeman Island, Australia on September 3, 2000:
CM Lindeman Island-Sept 3 2000-Beach VB Part 1 - YouTube
And, if you want to listen to the first ever "My First Season" interview with Joker, see below:
My First Season-Joker | My First Season