In this deeply human episode of the Artist Recovery Podcast, host Rich Wright sits down with Steve Boehm, aka Steve Sxaks—a multi-hyphenate creator whose journey spans punk rock stages, underground hip-hop culture, military service, homelessness, education, and authorship. This is not a highlight reel conversation. It’s a grounded, honest exploration of how identity is forged through adversity, failure, and relentless self-inquiry.
From growing up drawn to attention and performance, to being shaped by punk ethics and DIY culture, Steve opens up about what it means to learn everything the hard way. No shortcuts. No safety net. Just lived experience as the teacher.
As a former touring punk musician turned respected audio engineer, Steve is the co-founder of Marston House Recording, one of Philadelphia’s most influential studios. He is also the creator of Marston House Ciphers, a platform dedicated to preserving authentic underground hip-hop voices. But behind those accomplishments lies a quieter truth—periods of instability, couch surfing, shelters, and rebuilding from the ground up while becoming a husband, father, and mentor.
This episode dives into:
• Growing up between chaos and creativity
• Punk rock as philosophy, not fashion
• Learning through failure—and why Steve lets his students fail on purpose
• Integrity in music, education, and collaboration
• Teaching young artists how to earn trust, not just credits
• Navigating homelessness, grief, and responsibility
• Why creativity often chooses us before we’re ready

Steve also reflects on his role as an educator and nonprofit leader, sharing how his own unteachable tendencies shaped the way he mentors emerging creatives today. His approach is simple but radical: experience it, own it, fix it, and never repeat it.
Beyond music, Steve is also a published author. His debut novel, Invasion of the Punkcrackers Who Drink Blood, blends rebellion, horror, and coming-of-age themes—mirroring the same raw energy that defines his life and work.
This conversation isn’t about success in the traditional sense. It’s about integrity, resilience, and what it takes to stay creative when life keeps testing you.

Connect with Steve Sxaks:
https://letsgoguy.com
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/steve_sxaks
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@stevesxaks⁩

#SteveSxaksInterview, #ArtistRecoveryPodcast, #PunkRockPhilosophy, #UndergroundHipHopCulture, #MarstonHouseRecording, #MusicIndustryIntegrity, #CreativeResilience, #RebuildingThroughArt, #HomelessnessAndCreativity, #PunkRockMindset, #richwrightartist #richwrightunltd #richwrightunlimited #podmatchguest #AudioEngineerJourney, #TeachingThroughFailure, #veteran #militarylife #militarymentalhealth #MusicEducationMentorship, #DIYMusicCulture, #ArtistIdentityRecovery, #CreativeSurvivalStories, #VeteranArtist, #IndependentMusicPodcast, #AuthenticStorytelling ⁨@PodMatch_com⁩

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In this deeply human and expansive conversation, Rich Wright sits down with Alexandra Beller—award-winning choreographer, educator, and former principal dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company—to explore what it truly means to live, create, and lead from the body when the world keeps asking you to conform.
Alexandra’s story is not one of neat triumph or easy confidence. It’s a story of contradiction—of being celebrated and unseen, powerful and insecure, grounded and exposed—all at the same time. From growing up as a highly sensitive, imaginative only child in New York, to navigating elite dance institutions that didn’t know how to see her, Alexandra shares what it took to stay connected to her embodied truth when external validation failed.

This episode dives into:
~What it means to belong to your body before the world approves of it
~How artistic feedback can create lifelong wounds—and how to survive them
~The pressure placed on artists to become symbols, role models, or “exceptions”
~Why confidence is often a projection—and contradiction is the real source of power
~Neurodivergence, intuition, and pattern recognition as creative intelligence
~Letting go of external legitimacy (institutions, titles, citations) to reclaim authorship
~The difference between success that looks impressive and work that feels true
~How dance, grief, joy, shame, and magic can all coexist in one body

Alexandra speaks candidly about imposter syndrome, body politics in dance, and the quiet violence of being forced into narratives that erase complexity. She challenges the idea that healing, success, or confidence must be linear—and offers a more embodied, compassionate way of understanding creative resilience.

This is a conversation for:
Artists who’ve been told they “don’t fit”
Highly sensitive creatives navigating systems not built for them
Dancers, writers, educators, and performers questioning external validation

Connect with Alexandra:
https://www.alexandrabellerdances.org
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/alexandrabellerdances
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-beller-0a56a57
FB: https://www.facebook.com/alexandrabellerdances

#AlexandraBellerInterview, #ArtistRecoveryPodcast, #BodyImageInDance, #ImposterSyndromeArtists, #HighlySensitiveCreatives, #NeurodivergentArtists, #EmbodiedIntelligence, #SomaticCreativity, #CreativeResilience, #ArtisticIdentity, #BreakingTheMoldInArt, #DanceIndustryPressure, #BodyPoliticsInDance, #ArtistsAndShame, #ConfidenceMyth, #CreativeAuthenticity, #EmotionalTruthInArt, #FeedbackTraumaArtists, #WomenChoreographers, #HealingThroughMovement, #ContradictionInCreativity, #IntuitiveIntelligence, #ArtistsMentalHealth, #NonconformingBodies, #CreativeBelonging, #ResilienceInTheArts, #ArtisticVulnerability, #RejectionAndCreativity, #RedefiningSuccessInArt #richwrightartist #richwrightunltd #richwrightunlimited #podmatchguest @PodMatch_com ​

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Always remember, Listen to your Heart and Be Kind to Your Mind! -Rich Wright

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What happens when hard rock meets stillness?When power, rhythm, and spiritual inquiry collide?
In this deeply intimate episode of the Artist Recovery Podcast, host Rich Wright sits down with Clementine Moss—founding drummer of the all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band Zeparella, author of From Bonham to Buddha and Back, and a multidisciplinary artist whose life bridges rock performance and spiritual practice.
Clementine’s story is not about overnight success or tidy transformation. It’s about late beginnings, internal listening, and the courage to follow truth—even when it contradicts expectation.

Born in Southern California and raised in a household filled with music but not musicianship, Clementine didn’t discover the drums until her late twenties. What followed wasn’t just a musical awakening, but a complete reorientation of identity. Drumming became her language—one rooted in time, structure, mathematics, and intuition—while writing and meditation remained her compass.

In this conversation, Clementine reflects on:
• Growing up as an achiever and seeker in parallel
• How silence, reading, and writing shaped her inner world
• The tension between spirituality and rock culture—and why they’re not opposites
• Discovering meditation alongside music, including a life-altering 10-day silent retreat
• Why creativity isn’t about being seen—but about being true

Clementine’s voice is grounded, reflective, and honest—offering insight not just for musicians, but for anyone navigating reinvention, recovery, or the quiet knowing that there’s more waiting on the other side of fear.
This is not a performance.It’s a remembering.

Timeline:
00:00 – Meeting Clementine Moss
04:10 – Childhood, reading, and early sensitivity
11:30 – Achievement, identity, and internal pressure
19:40 – Spiritual curiosity before religion
28:15 – Junior high, depression, and self-attack
36:00 – Writing as survival and self-expression
44:20 – New York City & creative freedom
52:10 – Discovering drums later in life
1:01:30 – Seeing rhythm as blocks of time
1:12:00 – From silence to stage
1:23:40 – Spiritual practice meets rock performance
1:34:10 – Why drumming feels like home
1:46:00 – Unity, presence, and what music is really for

Connect with Clementine:
https://www.clementinemoss.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clementinemossmusic
FB: https://www.facebook.com/ClementineMossMusic
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@UCZdYUfNZ7MifaGf0mPa22aw

#Clementine Moss #Zeparelladrummer #femaledrummer #podcast #artistrecoverypodcast #artistrecovery #richwrightartist #richwrightunltd #richwrightunlimited #podmatchguest #musicandspirituality #latebloomer #artist, #womeninrock #drummingandmeditation #creativeidentity , #spiritualawakening #artist, #recoveryandcreativity #rockmusic #healing @PodMatch_com mindfulness and music, artistic reinvention

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Always remember, Listen to your Heart and Be Kind to Your Mind! -Rich Wright

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In this deeply human and unfiltered conversation, Rich Wright sits down with bestselling author, muralist, and creative entrepreneur Alli Koch for one of the most honest Artist Recovery Podcast episodes to date.
Known for her iconic black-and-white florals, large-scale murals, and over 18 bestselling art books, Alli’s external success tells only part of the story. What unfolds here is a raw exploration of perfectionism, people-pleasing, faith, identity, and the quiet pressure creatives carry long before the world sees the work.
Alli opens up about growing up in the church, navigating judgment and conformity, and how those early environments shaped her deep desire to be “good,” “liked,” and “accepted.” She reflects on being a teacher’s pet, an adapter, and an old soul—roles that earned praise early on but later fueled burnout, self-doubt, and creative paralysis.

Together, Rich and Alli unpack:
• How people-pleasing becomes both a survival skill and a creative prison
• The hidden cost of perfectionism in art and business
• Dyslexia, self-trust, and learning to ask for help without shame
• Why “art as a hobby” nearly stopped her from building a career
• The leap from weddings and calligraphy to large-scale murals
• Building a business that allowed her to retire her husband from corporate life
• The tension between commercial success and the longing to create “just for yourself”
• Redefining success, freedom, and autonomy on your own terms

Chapter Markers:
00:00 – The pressure of being “good” early
06:40 – Teacher’s pet, perfectionism, and approval
15:40 – Church, judgment, and learning to suppress self
26:30 – Dyslexia, asking for help, and hidden shame
45:30 – People-pleasing as survival
51:30 – Commercial art vs. creative freedom
1:05:00 – Art as a “real” career
1:13:00 – The first mural that changed everything
1:18:00 – Redefining success and autonomy

This episode isn’t about overnight wins or viral moments. It’s about the slow internal shifts that allow artists to reclaim their voice, their boundaries, and their creative agency—without burning everything down.
If you’ve ever:– Felt trapped by expectations– Struggled to separate your worth from your output– Been praised for being “easy” or “reliable” at the cost of yourself– Wondered if it’s too late to pivot creatively
This conversation will land exactly where it needs to.

Connect with Alli:
https://allikdesign.com
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/allikdesign
Youtube: @allikdesign5090
Alli's Latest Book: https://a.co/d/1KPrrKQ

#peoplepleasingcreatives #perfectionisminart #artistrecoverypodcast #creativeburnout #faithandcreativity #dyslexiaandcreativity #creativeentrepreneur #muralartist #artcareer #creativeidentity #artistselfworth #sustainableart #creativeboundaries #allikdesign #allibooks #richwrightartist #richwrightunltd #richwrightunlimited

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Always remember, Listen to your Heart and Be Kind to Your Mind! -Rich Wright

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Some artists are born knowing exactly who they are — and then spend a lifetime being told not to trust it. In this deeply honest and soul-forward episode of the Artist Recovery Podcast, host Rich Wright sits down with bestselling mystery author and writing coach Liz Mugavero (also known as Cate Conte) for a conversation that moves far beyond publishing credits and into the raw terrain of identity, faith, trauma, and creative survival. Liz is the author of multiple successful mystery series published by Kensington Books and St. Martin’s Press, including the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries, Cat Café Mysteries, and Full Moon Mysteries. But behind the accolades is a story shaped by silence, religious control, codependency, emotional abuse, and the quiet resilience it takes to keep creating anyway. Raised in a strict Catholic environment that never quite aligned with her intuitive truth, Liz knew early on that something didn’t add up. Storytelling — inspired in part by her grandfather, a former detective — became both a calling and a way out.

In this episode, Liz opens up about:

~Growing up deeply creative in an environment that discouraged questioning

~The subtle, often invisible realities of emotional and psychological abuse

~How codependency can quietly derail creativity~Losing — and then reclaiming — her artistic voice

~Writing her first novel as a graduate thesis while navigating a collapsing marriage

~Why real-life experiences (funeral homes, animal shelters, journalism) fuel authentic fiction

~The courage it takes to trust your voice when no one else does

Together, Rich and Liz explore the intersection of creativity and survival, unpacking how artists often learn to self-abandon before they learn to self-express.

This conversation is for writers, artists, and creatives who:

~Grew up feeling misunderstood or spiritually disconnected

~Have been told to “be realistic” about their dreams

~Have lost momentum due to relationships, fear, or control

~Are rebuilding trust in their own intuition

~Believe creativity isn’t just a career — it’s a lifeline

Liz’s story is a reminder that recovery isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about remembering who you were before the world told you to be smaller.

Connect with Liz:

https://cateconte.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizmugavero

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.liz.mugavero

Substack: https://lizmugavero.substack.com

#creativeRecovery, #writingThroughTrauma, #emotionalAbuseSurvivor, #codependencyHealing, #artistIdentity, #spiritualCreativity, #richwrightartist #richwrightunltd #richwrightunlimited #recoveringCatholic, #womenWriters, #mysteryAuthor, #creativityAndHealing, #reclaimYourVoice, #artistResilience, #writingAsHealing, #creativeIntuition, #traumaInformed, #artistrecoverypodcast , #TheArtistsWay, #storytelling #podmatchguest ⁠ ⁨@PodMatch_com⁩ ⁠

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Always remember, Listen to your Heart and Be Kind to Your Mind! -Rich Wright

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Some stories don’t start with a spotlight. They start with being forgotten.
In this deeply honest episode of the Artist Recovery Podcast, host Rich Wright sits down with musician, author, National Guard service member, and mental health advocate Tony Kessel for a raw conversation about identity, abandonment, creativity, and healing.

Tony’s story begins in rural North Dakota — adopted late, moved through foster care, raised in small towns where everyone knew your name but few truly knew you. As a child, Tony learned early what it feels like to be overlooked… and how performance, music, and creativity became a lifeline for being seen.

This episode explores:

~Growing up adopted and navigating foster care at a young age

~The emotional weight of feeling rejected — even when love is present

~How music became both refuge and voice

~The connection between creativity, trauma, and emotional survival

~Discipline, structure, and service through the National Guard

~Why healing isn’t linear — and why art often tells the truth before we can

Tony is the author of It’s All in the Lyrics: How Music Helped Me Heal and Find My Voice, a memoir that blends lived experience with the power of music as emotional language. He’s also a multidisciplinary creative working in music production, design, photography, and advocacy — using his story to help others feel less alone in theirs.

This conversation isn’t about “overcoming” trauma in a clean, inspirational arc.
It’s about living with it, listening to it, and letting creativity translate what words can’t.

If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t belong — in your family, your town, your body, or your own mind — this episode is for you.

CONNECT WITH TONY:
https://dualistmedia.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dualistmedia
FB: https://www.facebook.com/dualistmedia
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dualist.media
X: https://x.com/DualistMedia

#adoptiontrauma, #fostercareexperience, #childhoodabandonment, #healingthroughmusic, #musicastherapy, #creativityandtrauma, #artistrecovery, #emotionalhealingjourney, #findingyourvoice, #identitywounds, #feelingunwanted, #belongingandidentity, #innerchildhealing, #emotionalresilience, #traumarecoverystory, #mentalhealthawareness, #menandvulnerability, #emotionalhonesty, #breakingtraumacycles, #creativesurvival, #artashealing, #songwritingastherapy, #musicandmentalhealth, #recoverythroughcreativity, #personaltransformationstory, #disciplineandhealing, #nationalguardservice, #militarymentalhealth, #structuresaveslives, #healingisntlinear, #rawpodcastconversation, #reallifehealingstories, #creativeidentity, #purposethroughpain, #resiliencethroughart, #storytellingforhealing, #traumainformedconversation #podmatchguest #podmatch @PodMatch_com #richwrightartist #richwrightunltd #richwrightunlimited

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Always remember, Listen to your Heart and Be Kind to Your Mind! -Rich Wright

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In this deeply human and beautifully unfolding conversation, the Artist Recovery Podcast welcomes Aimee Carlson — artist, seeker, former educator, long-distance runner, yoga teacher, and founder of the SheForce movement — for a journey into sensitivity, selfhood, reinvention, and the quiet courage it takes to rise again in midlife. Aimee’s story is not a linear ascent.
It’s a mosaic — shaped by childhood observation, creative sparks, spiritual searching, emotional endurance, and the kind of lived experience that becomes medicine for others. This episode is a reflection for every creative who has ever wondered: “Is it too late for me?” Aimee’s answer is a resounding:
"It is never too late to become who you were always meant to be."

Viral Moments & Deep Emotional Beats in This Episode

✨ The Sensitive Child Who Became an Observer
Aimee reveals how moving constantly, navigating divorced parents, and being teased for her curly hair shaped her inner world — and taught her the power of watching, absorbing, and understanding the emotional textures of life.

✨ The Grandmother Who Lived in Color
From handmade purple outfits to daily hats, Aimee’s artistic grandmother became her first permission slip to live boldly, creatively, unapologetically.

✨ The 5th-Grade Teacher Who Ignited Her Creative Fire
A spontaneous classroom “lion’s den” exercise leads Aimee to write and direct her first play — a moment she still carries as creative origin.

✨ Running as Emotional Alchemy
For nearly two decades, long-distance running wasn’t about fitness.
It was how she processed emotion, sought meaning, and found internal spaciousness when life offered none.

✨ The Yoga Studio as Sacred Space
Aimee explains how yoga became her “movement church” — where breath, body, and spirit finally aligned into something that felt like home.

✨ Teaching on a Native Reservation
She shares the profound impact of community, humor, hardship, and resilience she witnessed among her students — and how it reshaped her understanding of humanity and belonging.

✨ The Midlife Awakening: Enter SheForce
Aimee reframes midlife not as decline but as second adulthood — a threshold where creativity, leadership, energy, and identity can be rewritten with intention and soul.

What You’ll Take Away

• How sensitivity is not a weakness — but a creative superpower
• Why reinvention is not reserved for the young
• How breath, movement, and art become pathways back to self
• Why midlife is the most spiritually charged moment of becoming
• How community and safe spaces help us take creative risks
• Why exploring who you are now is the greatest act of leadership

Connect with Aimee:

https://www.sheforcecoach.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aimee-carlson-b5152b65

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Always remember, Listen to your Heart and Be Kind to Your Mind! -Rich Wright

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Dive into one of the most powerful Artist Recovery Podcast episodes yet — a raw, inspiring, and deeply human conversation with Jacki Ramsey, the designer, photographer, entrepreneur, producer, and founder of Wood Sprite Organic Body. Her story is proof that creativity can save a life — and sometimes build an entire industry.
In this episode, Jacki opens up about:
✨ Growing up surrounded by art after her mother brought her into college drawing classes — even becoming the toddler “model” for 60-second gesture sketches.
✨ Escaping an abusive home environment and finding refuge in nature, animals, and creativity.
✨ The emotional impact of losing her brother — a defining moment that transformed her focus, discipline, and purpose.
✨ Discovering photography, filmmaking, and storytelling as lifelines and forms of expression.

Viral Moment Alert:Jacki shares the wild, unbelievable story of meeting Patrick Swayze at horse shows right before Dirty Dancing hit — and how her classmates called her a liar until she brought in the autograph.

The Documentary That Changed Everythingwith sheer determination (and zero budget), Jacki chased the story of the Yellowstone bison crisis — cold-calling government officials, interviewing Native American activists, and filming across Montana with donated gear and “short ends” of film stock. Even when the project was later plagiarized and aired on PBS without her involvement, Jacki learned the powerful truth that her work was good enough.

The Birth of Wood Sprite Organic BodyAfter quitting smoking, Jacki redirected her restless hands into crafting pure, natural soap — long before “clean beauty” existed. Handmade in tiny batches with essential oils and organic herbs, her soaps went viral in real life through word-of-mouth. Soon, Jacki’s hobby became a thriving business built on sustainability, integrity, and intention — a brand she still hand-crafts today.

Connect with Jacki:
https://www.woodspriteorganicbody.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/WoodSpriteOrganicBody
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/woodsprite

#JackiRamsey, #WoodSpriteOrganicBody, #CleanBeauty, #OrganicSkincare, #NaturalSkincare, #WomenEntrepreneurs, #TraumaToTriumph, #CreativeHealing, #ChildhoodTraumaRecovery, #ArtistRecovery, #OriginStory, #PatrickSwayzeStory, #MeetingPatrickSwayze, #YellowstoneBisonDocumentary, #DocumentaryFilmmaking, #FilmmakerJourney, #CreativeResilience, #OvercomingAdversity, #EmpathCreatives, #NatureHealing, #PhotographyJourney, #HandmadeSoapBusiness, #SmallBusinessFounder, #SustainableBeauty, #HolisticWellness, #PurposeDrivenBusiness, #InspiringWomen, #CreativeEntrepreneurship, #ResilienceStory, #EmotionalStorytelling, #TurningPainIntoPurpose, #ViralPodcastMoments, #InspirationalPodcast #richwrightartist #richwrightunltd #richwrightunlimited

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