My First Season

My guest today and I worked together during the Winter 1994/1995 season in St. Lucia. She was right out of high school when she started her first season in Club Med Huatulco in October of 1988 as an au pair Hostess G.O. From Mexico City and now living in Norway (we get into that!), please help me welcome to the podcast, Diana! Diana spent roughly 17 years in Club Med and she has many amazing stories to tell during this interview. I told Diana the impression she made on me in my second season in St. Lucia, as I had a very distinct and long-lasting memory of her that involved windsurfing. Diana worked in many of the resorts in the American Zone but also in Tunisia, Turkey, Israel and Switzerland to name but a few. She shares a story from Punta Cana involving the cover of night, a shipwreck, “borrowed” kayaks and a bottle of Dominican Brugal rum. Also discovered in this interview: she speaks seven languages, had a pet tarantula in Huatulco named Lencha, her most memorable CDV and the fact that she knows how to make Viking beer. Trust me, stay to the end of the podcast because you will be fascinated by Diana’s story! Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Below is the link where Diana has been working, which we talk about at the end of the episode.

https://www.lofotr.no/en/

My guest and I worked together in Club Med Paradise Island in the 2002/2003 season, but his first season was in Club Med Itaparica, Brazil in Winter of 2000, where he was a Tennis G.O. Prior to joining Club Med, he had never played tennis before in his life (huh?!). Everyone, please help me welcome from Brazil and now living in California, Renato! You see, Renato was a ranked professional Squash player in Brazil. He started playing at 9 years old and by the time he was a teenager, he was the South American and PanAmerican champion and was #10 in the world. Renato lived close to the resort of Itaparica and would visit many times a year as a G.M. The manager of the resort at the time thought tennis and squash were the same as it involved a ball and racquet, and offered Renato a job as a Tennis G.O. Renato left college to join Club Med, but after he stopped working for Club Med, he went back to finish his degree in Business Administration and is now two months away from obtaining his MBA. Below is the link to the “I Want it That Way” Backstreet Boys number we did in Paradise Island that I mentioned during this episode. And again, apologies for the SD quality. The video was HD when I uploaded it 14 years ago (Renato is in the middle in the Kangol hat and Peter Anthony is immediately to his right in the yellow shirt). Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S07ZddsXQY8

This is part two in the series of "Amazing Women Doing Amazing Things". My guest today got 1^st place in the 2021 Almaty World Cup in freestyle aerial skiing, qualifying her to represent Canada in the Beijing Winter Olympics in February of 2022! Everyone, please help me welcome, Beijing Winter Olympics-bound, Marion Thénault! Marion is from Sherbrooke, Quebec and while she was and is on the freestyle skiing World Cup circuit in Aerial, Marion is also an Aerospace Engineering student (BEng) at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec in the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. In 2017, at age 17, she discovered her talent in freestyle aerial skiing and then was invited to join the Canadian National Team in 2020. During this episode, we will talk about her start in gymnastics and trampoline, which led to aerial skiing and we will talk about her first season on the World Cup tour. Below are links to Marion’s gold medal-winning jump in Almaty, Khazakhstan and the link to her Instagram (please give her a follow!) Good luck in Beijing, Marion!! Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OhtWlUYlXM

https://www.instagram.com/marionthenault/

UPDATE: Marion won a Bronze medal in the Mixed Team Aerials-Freestyle Skiing!

My guest today worked in Club Med Sandpiper in April of 1989 as a Bar G.O. for his first season. He was born in the States, raised in Toronto and now resides in Arizona. Please help me welcome to MFS, Scott Richmond! Before Club Med, Scott played club hockey at Ohio State and after graduation, he found himself bartending at a nightclub in Oakland, California. It was there that a fellow bartender told him about Club Med. Scott drove down from San Francisco to Los Angeles, for his interview at the Hilton Hotel in Universal Studios, Hollywood. Before his scheduled interview that day, he popped into a bar and sitting next to him was none other than actor, Telly Savalas (Kojack)! Scott took this as a good omen and went on to ace his interview. He also shares a hilarious story about meeting the coach of the Boston Bruins, Mike Milbury, during a late arrival in 1990 in St. Lucia. Why is that funny? You will have to listen to this interview to find out! Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is first in a series that I am calling, "Amazing Women Doing Amazing Things”. My guest today is the incredible Sarah Williams from England. Sarah Williams is an author, vlogger, motivational speaker, marathoner and ultra runner. Sarah is also the host and creator of the two time award winning “Tough Girl Podcast”, a podcast where she interviews inspirational female explorers, adventurers, athletes and everyday women who have overcome great challenges. Her podcast is listened to in 174 countries around the world and has passed one million downloads. I invited her to talk about her podcast and also her many other achievements. The one I was most excited to talk to Sarah about primarily was that she ran the Marathon des Sables in 2016. Often described as “the toughest footrace in the world”, the Marathon des Sables is a race comprised of 6 stages over 7 days in the unforgiving Saharan desert and is the equivalent to running a marathon a day for 6 days straight in the extreme temperatures of the Sahara desert. The following year in 2017, she thru hiked the Appalachian Trail solo and unsupported (2,190 miles) in 100 days. We will talk about her many other accomplishments, as well as being the founder of her company, Tough Girl Challenges, which is all about motivating and inspiring women and girls to get fit, active, travel, explore and to encourage women and girls to have big dreams and to step outside their comfort zone. Please follow Sarah Williams on all social media below and please subscribe to her wonderful YouTube channel, which has many awesome videos of her adventures that we talked about on the podcast. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SarahWilliamsToughGirlChallenges

https://www.instagram.com/toughgirlchallenges/

https://www.toughgirlchallenges.com/

https://twitter.com/_tough_girl?lang=en

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Tough101/

I had the supreme pleasure of working with my next guest in Club Med Columbus Isle in 1999/2000, but his first season was as Landsports in Club Med Les Almadies, Senegal in 1996. Please help me welcome, Laurent “Tarzan” Fraix-Burnet! Tarzan was born in Bordeaux, France and he left his country at 18 years old and was in the medical services in the French army stationed in Senegal (I know, right, Tarzan in the army?!). His uncle conducted business with Serge Trigano and that is how Tarzan found himself to be working in Club Med. I called Tarzan in Guadeloupe for this interview, where he has been living the past decade and connections issues aside, you will hear an honest-to-gosh rooster crowing in the background! Tarzan and I had a lot of laughs and during this interview and we find out how he got his nickname, where he learned the crazy sign “Jessica” (that he used to drive me crazy with in Columbus Isle) and we share our mutual dislike of the dreaded power walk. At the end of the interview we talk about Tarzan being the owner and operator of his own excursion company in Guadeloupe, Tarzan Excursion Guadeloupe. If you are planning a trip there, please look him up! Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Please take a moment to visit his website, Tarzan Excursion Guadeloupe and please follow him on Instagram @tarzan_excursion_guadeloupe

https://fr.excursionguadeloupe.com/excursion.html

https://www.instagram.com/tarzan_excursion_guadeloupe/

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Paradise Island in 2002/2003 where he was Resp. of the Tennis team. I first met him in Columbus Isle in 1997 while he was on the way to his first season in Club Med Paradise Island in Winter of 1997 as a Tennis G.O. Everyone, please help me welcome from beautiful British Columbia, Petri Raito! I distinctly remember meeting Petri at the bar in Columbus Isle in 1997 and when he told me he was a Tennis G.O, I laughed (you will understand why at the start of the episode and if you know this G.O, then you already know why). Before Club Med, Petri was teaching tennis in New York and Connecticut and met someone that had worked for Club Med. He has so many stories that cover about 7-8 years that I don’t even want to mention them in this description so I don’t spoil them. Petri is also the co-founder and GM/CEO of Rossland Beer Company, an award-winning craft brewery tucked away in the glorious mountain town of Rossland, British Columbia (we will talk about how he founded his beer company at the end of the episode). Please check out his website below and give him a follow on Instagram (@rosslandbeerco). Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

http://rosslandbeer.com/

https://www.instagram.com/rosslandbeerco/

My guest today and I met during our first season together in Club Med Turks & Caicos in Summer of 1994. I was at the end of my season and she was starting her 94/95 season as a Boutique G.O. From California, please help me welcome Melissa Cuevas-McIntyre! Melissa has a very vivid account of her first season in Turks & Caicos and she shares her experience with us in great detail, including her favorite JoJo story, getting Padi certified, brushes with minor celebrities, two-cheek kissing Europeans, how to small-talk like a pro at lunch and her favorite Crazy Sign, Crocodile Rock (ugh). Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

I met today’s guest in Club Med Paradise Island in 2002/2003, where she was the resort photographer. Her first season was as an au pair Bar G.O. in Club Med Copper Mountain, Colorado in March of 1995. Originally from NYC, now living the good life in Mexico, please help me welcome to the show Paula Fishman! Paula initially went on vacation to Copper Mountain and then was recruited by the CDV, Carlos Castro, to work at that resort. The rest they say, is history. She worked as an au pair about 15 times before she had her first actual contract in Club Med Sonora Bay in the Summer of 1999. Being from New York, Paula has her own New York GM stories/dumb questions and they are a hoot! Today, Paula is the owner and operator of Casa Preciosa, which is two beach rental casitas 35 minutes from the city of Merida, in the town of Chuburna Puerto. If you are planning a trip to Mexico or are traveling through Mexico and are in the area, please look her up! (link provided below).

https://www.casapreciosayucatan.com/?fbclid=IwAR0BOChvXNGZAtNqZOukjTiqm_tunY66mwyY2kyd6RpgKqMyN9PicC_ON18

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Paradise Island in 2002/2003. His first season was in Club Med Punta Cana in Winter of 1999 as a Tennis G.O. From Montreal (yahoo!) please help me welcome, Peter Anthony! Peter started to learn tennis at age 12 and eventually became a ranked competitive junior tennis player in the province of Quebec. He was teaching tennis in Montreal when a fellow tennis pro told him about Club Med. He gave Peter G.A.’s number and the rest is history. Even though it was Peter’s first season, he quickly caught on that he joined one of the most stacked G.O. teams talent-wise, of the late 90’s. Just to give you an idea, Moïses Aykanat was the CDV, Cookie the Chief of Animation, Kiko was the Chief of Sports, Flo was the animator and Monika from Brazil was the choreographer. At Circus you had Mac and Caius and Simon Sez was Landsports, to name just a few. Peter discusses his first season in depth and we also touch on the season we met in Paradise Island. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.