Failing Up

Aaron Abrams is an actor and writer who worked his way from the mean streets of Toronto Canada, to Chicago, then all the way to Los Angeles to realize his dream. He ran in to some bumps along the way, but that didn't stop Aaron. Listen in as he talks about his struggles and his triumphs as he departs wisdom and lessons along the way. Follow us on twitter: @mraaronabrams @theguydf @eden_eats @failinguppod Aaron's Charity: https://my.truecolorsfund.org/checkout/donation?eid=54432

Dustin Marshall was one of the 30 worst students in the entire state of Wisconsin. He had a troubled childhood that included doing and selling drugs and by the time he was 18 he was working at McDonalds and a local grocery store. But Dustin is no slacker, after going back to school for electronics engineering, Dustin landed a job with Earwolf in Los Angeles. Just a short few years later, Dustin is now the founder of FeralAudio.com, a podcasting art collective, which houses some of the most popular podcasts in the world. Listen to his story. Follow him on twitter @dustinmartian and give to his charity https://thewaterproject.org/ Follow us on twitter @theguydf @eden_eats @failinguppod

Gaby Dunn didn't grow up with a silver spoon in her mouth. In fact, this self proclaimed daughter of hippies woke up one day and realized that she had a big issue, and that issue was money. So what did this writer, comedian, journalist, actress, YouTuber(and sometimes Postmates courier), do? She started a podcast about her own journey and to help others, simply titled "Bad With Money". We talk to Gaby about her journey from being heavily in debt to YouTube star who is financially solvent. We also discuss her YouTube channel, her success, her failures and so much more. Donate to Gaby's charity: https://lalgbtcenter.org/how-you-can-help/donations Go to her Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/justbetweenusshow Here's her podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bad-with-money-with-gaby-dunn/id1144712710?mt=2 Follow us all on twitter: @gabydunn @theguydf @eden_eats @failinguppod

Bridget Phetasy has lead a very interesting life. After moving around a lot as a kid because her father was a possible spy, Bridget ended up getting in to drugs at a young age. Eventually, this lead her down the road to heroin and her story continues to be interesting from there. Listen in as Guy gets deep with Bridget about the topless selfies she posts on twitter, her job with Playboy and so much more. Support Bridget's Charity: https://herofund.whitehelmets.org/donate/crowdfund/?source=whweb Become a patron of hers: https://www.patreon.com/bridgetphetasy Follow us on twitter @bridgetphetasy @theguydf @eden_eats

We all owe Randi Mayem Singer a thank you. After winning a major award with her first screenplay 22¢ Romance, Randi was tapped to write the screenplay for Mrs. Doubtfire. It wasn't all easy along the way, Randi ran in to her share of failures, but that hasn't slowed her down. Randi is still a successful writer and "script doctor" and opens up to us about the ups and downs of writing. Donate to Randi's charity: http://www.aspca.org/ways-to-give Follow us all on twitter! @rmayemsinger @theguydf @eden_eats @FailingUpPod

If you're a Yankee fan, Ray Negron's story is going to blow you away. If you just love baseball, I promise you'll love his amazing story, and even if you don't care for sports at all, Ray's story should touch you. As a teenager, Ray was caught spray painting on Yankee Stadium, by none other than "The Boss" George Steinbrenner. Instead of calling the police, George decided to put Ray to work for the Yankees to pay off his debt. That's just the beginning of the story. Ray talks about his time with Reggie Jackson and what he had to do with Reggie's famous 3-Home Run World Series feat, as well as his good friends Thurmon Munson, Billy Martin and many other Yankee greats. If you're looking at the photo that accompanies this podcast, Ray is sitting right in the middle, and for good reason. Don't miss his show! Support Hank's Yanks here: https://www.donationplanet.org/charity/hanks-yanks-baseball-foundation-inc/ Ray's website: batboyhelps.com Five Days in August: http://web.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=2

Duncan Birmingham is currently an Executive Producer for the show Blunt Talk starring Patrick Stewart, but Duncan's path to success didn't come overnight. After writing for various small local newspapers, being the Bigfoot "expert" for the Weekly World News, and then landing a job as a writer's assistant on Queer as Folk, Duncan really paid his dues. Duncan was also a writer and executive producer for the TV show Maron. We dig in deep with Duncan about his success, failures and everything else that made him who he is. We also ask the burning question, is Patrick Stewart nice or an a-hole? His answer may surprise you. Duncan's charity: http://www.amnestyusa.org/donate-to-amnesty Follow us on twitter: @duncanbirm @theguydf @eden_eats @failinguppod

Our first guest, Andy Lassner, makes a triumphant return to the podcast this week. The first time we spoke to Andy, he spoke candidly about his past drug use, alcohol abuse and other transgressions. This time, we pick up where we left off. How is Andy doing today? Does he deal with depression still, and if so, how does he do it on a day to day basis. We also speak with Andy about the people he helped by being on our show the first time. Once again, Andy is an open book; he shares with us about how he dealt with the passing of his father, what his support system looks like, and even talks a bit about what it’s like to work on The Ellen Show. Of course we also talk about Donald Trump, twitter, The Emmys, ask questions from the audience and talkother silly stuff. Don’t miss this show! Donate to Andy’s charity: https://secure.chla.org/site/c.ipINKTOAJsG/b.3882839/k.8604/Donate_Today/apps/ka/sd/donorcustom.asp Follow us on twitter @andylassner @theguydf @eden_eats

Raised in Compton, Travon Free did not have an easy childhood. As he got older, he was a star athlete at his high school, which translated to him playing basketball for his college team. An injury forced Travon to quit the game, and forced him to follow his other dream, comedy. Travon was scratching by as a writer and comic, when he landed his dream job writing for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and then Trevor Noah. Now working for Bill Simmons, Travon has seen his career skyrocket, but it wasn't always easy. Listen to Travon's inspiring story and get inspired yourself. Donate to Travon's charity here: https://www.unicefusa.org/donate/donate-unicef-tap-project/16034 Follow us on twitter @travon , @theguydf , @eden_eats , @failinguppod

Eliza Bayne is a writer, producer and performer from Vancouver, B.C. She began her career working in radio, performing and writing comedy bits for a local morning show. She moved into acting shortly thereafter, and in addition to acting in commercials and television, she produced and hosted several shows on G4TV as well as providing voice-over for commercials and animation. Eliza is a great talent and has been named one of the funniest people on twitter too many times to count. We talk to Eliza about her struggles, her failures and successes and how they define her as a person. Follow us on twitter: @theguydf @eden_eats @elizabayne Eliza's charity: www.foodonfoot.org

This week, Dave Holmes came to the studio and discussed his awesome story. As a high school freshman, Dave "snuck on" to a local college radio station. From there, he went on to give up a good job in advertising to try to win MTV's "Wanna Be a VJ" contest. Dave came in 2nd place, but that didn't damper his spirits. Hear how Dave parlayed his time on MTV to make connections, and the tenacity that he exhibited to land his dream job. Dave's story truly shows us the power of persistence. Dave's charity: http://www.csh.org/ Buy Dave's book: http://www.amazon.com/Party-One-Memoir-21-Songs/dp/0804187983/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461771234&sr=8-1&keywords=dave+holmes Follow us on twitter: @DaveHolmes @theguydf @eden_eats @FailingUpPod

Alex Capecelatro is a young man who has already seen a lot of success. From leaving high school to go work for NASA and Harvard, to being on Space X's Zero Gravity Flight, to being the CEO to his own startups. But Alex has also had to face a lot of adversity, he was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes when he was 9 and faced a ton of rejection along the way. In the end, we think that you'll agree Alex's words of wisdom can help everyone. Contribute to Alex's charity: www.startout.org Follow us on twitter: @theguydf @eden_eats @FailingupPod

Listen to the first ever LIVE Failing up broadcast from The Hollywood Improv! This episode takes a more lighthearted approach to the subject of failure. Eden and Guy sat down with three of our generation's most successful writers/executive producers, Danny Zuker (Modern Family), Alec Sulkin (Family Guy) and Mike Scully (The Simpsons) and talked about what it took for them to become successful. We also play a game called "Who Tweeted It" for charity. Listen! Danny's charity: Autistic Self Advocacy Network http://autisticadvocacy.org/ Alec's Charity: The Rape Foundation https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1411292 Mike's Charity: Boys and Girls Club of America http://www.bgca.org/Pages/index.aspx

Brandon Koch is a successful hypnotherapist with a very interesting story. When he was a teenager, his mother found out some information from his phone that caused them to not speak for two years. Soon after, Brandon moved to LA and fell in with the wrong crowd and spiraled downhill. But don't worry, Brandon has a story of triumph that you must listen to. Brandon's charity: http://www.hayfoundation.org/ Contact Brandon: http://www.brandonmichaelk.com/ Follow us on twitter: @hypnoangel11 @theguydf @eden_eats

As the former host of the TV show Cheaters, Joey Greco has seen it all, and has personally witnessed many relationships fail. But did you know that Joey began his career working as a counselor? Or that he later donned tights and was on a fitness show on ESPN? This week we speak to Joey about the personal and professional successes and failures that led him to who he is. We ask Joey to come clean about the alleged 2003 stabbing incident on the show, and talk about his 2005 arrest as well. Finally, we update a story we did in 2012 about someone who called in our show when Joey was on because he thought his wife was cheating on him. Donate to Joey's favorite charity: https://www.adopttogether.org/donate/at Follow us all on twitter: @thejoeygreco @theguydf @eden_eats

This week, we start the show with a little bit of audio issues that recover eventually. But that doesn't take away from Dateline NBC's Josh Mankiewicz's appearance. Josh talks to us about his success and how a failure at his "dream job" changed his life forever. Josh also shares stories about his dad working with Robert Kennedy and what Kennedy he is still in touch with. Also, he shares a great story about his mom's time with the NAACP. Don't miss it. Donate to Josh's favorite charity here: http://www.lapmf.org/ Follow us on twitter: @theguydf @eden_eats @JoshMankiewicz

Dustin Penner is an amazing story of someone who triumphed over adversity. After being cut by his home team three times, Dustin's chances of realizing his dream of being in the NHL seemed slim. Dustin never let adversity slow him down, proving himself through unusual means to get a chance to live his dream. After arriving in the NHL, Dustin promptly won the Stanley Cup and then went on to a wonderful career where he picked up a second one. Then one day, Dustin realized that hockey wasn't in his future anymore... did he crawl in to a ball and cry? No! He reinvented himself as DJ Pendemic. Listen now! Contribute to Dustin's charity: https://www.supportdogs.org/ Follow us all on twitter: @dustinpenner25 @theguydf @eden_eats

Zeb Newman is a true story of someone who triumphed in the face of adversity. As an actor studying at Juilliard, Zeb fell for the trappings of drugs, that eventually took control of his whole life. After seeing some success with acting in his twenties, Zeb's life went downhill. By his late twenties, he was on the street, literally living in LA's Skid Row. Shortly after that, Zeb had a stroke that temporarily paralyzed half of his body. And what did Zeb do when he recovered? He got high again! What? YES. Today Zeb is a successful producer at The Late Late Show and a happy guy. Listen to his story now! Follow us on twitter: @zeberiahnewman @theguydf @edeneats Donate to Zeb's charity here: http://alliancehh.org/

Elan Gale is a creative man who lives to get reactions from people, from his blind date that he live tweeted, to his now infamous Thanksgiving plane ride row with a fictional young lady named Diane in 7A, Elan is no stranger from controversy. Elan also runs the hit Instagram accounts @textsfromyourex, @unspirational and @tindernightmares, entertaining millions of people daily. Through all of his success in the cyber world, and even in real life as a Producer for The Bachelor, Elan was struggling with a deeper issue. Elan shares his story of self-realization as he decided that alcohol was a problem in his life and that he needed to change it. Elan is truly a man who appreciates all of life's ups and downs and his story is one that you should listen to and share. Follow us all on twitter: @theyearofelan @theguydf @eden_eats Support Elan's charity: http://nextdoor.org/ Buy one of his t-shirts: http://teespring.com/dont_giveup

Neal Brennan helped create one of the greatest TV sketch shows in history. But the co-creator co Chappelle's Show wasn't always successful. Neal began his career as a doorman at a comedy club in NYC. When he got up on stage for the first time as a comedian, the experience was so traumatic, he didn't go up again for years. His first movie, Half Baked, although a cult classic, was not exactly a hit when it first came out. Neal walks us through his successes, his failures and how he deals with both. Follow us on twitter @nealbrennan @theguydf @eden_eats Support Neal's charity: http://www.lionheartedkids.org/ All music is DRM and copyright free.