This episode is dedicated to my ENGL 255 course in English Literature for Fall 2023 at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, entitled “Video Games and/as Literature”, under the guidance of Dr. Kelsey Blair. The culmination of this creative final project involves three distinct interviews that delve into the ongoing debate between ludology and narratology and the exploration of the theme of identity in video games. Our diverse panel of guests includes Sarah Loubiri, a full-time employee and part-time Art History student at Concordia University, who has been an avid gamer since 1990. Also joining us is “Krasnog”, a native of Seattle, Washington, and a Twitch streamer with a gaming journey dating back to 1999. Notably, Krasnog is also a Marine veteran, adding a unique perspective to our discussion about identity. Rounding out our trio is Dr. Pippin Barr, a distinguished figure in video games. He serves as an educator, critic, and associate professor, and is currently the Chair of the Department of Design and Computation Arts at Concordia University. Dr. Barr’s extensive contributions to the world of video games include the creation of over 80 games since 2011. His collaborative podcast with David Wolinksi, titled Game Thing, explores video games through an audiobook club format. Additionally, his recent book with the MIT Press, The Stuff Games Are Made Of, offers a comprehensive breakdown of game design, exploring aspects such as computation, graphics, cinema, time, and more. Tune in as we engage in insightful conversations with these remarkable guests! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.  Please visit Dr. Pippin Barr's website at: https://pippinbarr.com/ Please check out Krasnog's Twitch stream and give him a follow!: https://www.twitch.tv/krasnog

I had the pleasure of working with my guest today during the 2004/2005 dream-team season with Hendel Duplessy in Club Med Cancun and he is the 11th guest from that season to be on the podcast. His first season was in Club Med Cancun in 2003 as a Snorkeling, Sailing, and Windsurfing G.O. He is from Virginia but has been living in beautiful Australia since 2006. Before Club Med, he went to the University of Colorado and studied Linguistics & French. He speaks twelve languages and also attended the University of Melbourne for Primary Education and is now a teacher. Please help me give a very warm welcome to Joseph Ramsey!! Joseph visited Club Med Eleuthera at the age of nine, and later, at thirteen, he became a teen club member during his vacation at Club Med Cancun. Joseph grew up sailing at Smith Mountain Lake, in the Roanoke Region of Virginia. He worked for Club Med from 2003 to 2005 in Cancun, Ixtapa and Sandpiper. We of course reminisce about our time working together in Club Med Cancun during the 2004/2005 season and all the fun we had at the beach. I ask Joseph what it’s like being a teacher and teaching 5-13-year-olds and also if he fully understands the Aussie language now (after seventeen years there, he is still discovering new words!). Please enjoy this interview with a very entertaining young man! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple podcasts.

My guest today worked for CM from 1994 to 2006. Her first season was in Club Med Sandpiper as an Excursion G.O. She held other positions such as Reception, Ski Instructor, IGO Trainer, and Recruitment and Affectations. My trilingual guest grew up in Florence, Italy, and has a bachelor’s degree in Italian Renaissance Art History from Harvard University. She now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and she is here to regale us with her many CM stories. Who is this Renaissance woman? Well, it is the one and only, Shehime Arshad! Shehime worked in the Club Med villages of Sandpiper, Copper Mountain (5x), Paradise Island, and Crested Butte (4x). I hope you like funny stories because Shehime has them! Some of the stories are duct-taping Eric Goldberg to the entrance of restaurant (with a ferret no less!) in Copper, being stranded her first season on the road with eleven French lawyers, epic prank wars with the Four Horsemen of Paradise Island in 2002, to quite possibly being the only woman ever to turn down five-time Olympic medalist Alberto “Tomba la Bomba” Tomba when she was at Copper Mountain in 1996. Trust me, you need to listen to this interview! Shehime worked with CDVs Howard McCarley, Jean-Pierre Grand, Aureo Stern, Angie Boucher, and Ryan Leach, to name a few. Shehime also talks a little about her move to the offices in Miami when she was in Recruitment and Affectations in 2005. If you were an early 90s G.O., you will love this episode with Shehime! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple podcasts.

My guest today went to Club Med St. Lucia as a teenager and thought that G.O.’s had the coolest job of anyone and that was his first contact with Club Med. He studied at Ithaca College and got certified as an instructor at Pro Dive in Ft. Lauderdale. An EXGO told him about Club Med, and he applied. He had a phone interview with Club Med, and they gave him all of one hour to decide! I would have needed only 30 seconds to decide, but that’s me! His first season was in Club Med Columbus Isle in 1996 as a Scuba Instructor, and he might be the only EXGO that I know of, who arrived on Christmas Day! Yes, he arrived on December 25, 1996! He then worked in Club Med Turks & Caicos three times (1997/1998/1999). He of course met his future wife in Turks and suggested to her father that they take the resort course with him, and the rest is history. Please help me welcome, from the Sunshine State, Jordan “Gooch” Gross! Gooch worked in two of my favorite villages, so we had a lot to talk about. The CDVs for his three seasons at Turks were Kevin Batt, LouLou, and MoMo. We cover many stories from these three seasons, including the one where Gooch saw his future wife at an arrival in Turks. We end the interview with some shout-outs, the things he misses the most about Club Med, and uncovering what a “Scuba Alarm Clock” is. Please enjoy your time with Gooch! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, 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.

My guest today is so far only the second Gestionnaire to appear on the My First Season podcast. He went to Club Med three times as a G.M. in the late 80s to Martinique, La Caravelle, and St. Lucia and that lit the spark for him to apply. He worked for Club Med from 1988 to 2000 and his first season was in Club Med Playa Blanca as a Cashier. He has a degree in Marketing from Fordham University, and he met his future wife in 1993 in Club Med Huatulco and has been married 27 years now. From New York, please help me welcome, Kevin Klein! Kevin worked in villages such as Sonora Bay, Moorea, Phuket, Zinal, and Bali, to name but a few. Despite his Marketing background, Kevin did not want to work in the office, but on the beach or doing Landsports! But alas, some do not get their first choice, so from cashier, he went to Aide Gestion, Gestion, and one season as a Personnel Manager. He worked with a wide array of Managers such as Denis Amsellem, Lefis, Arlette Gilles, and previous MFS guests, Mike Coltman, Howard McCarley, and Carlos Castro. Since I love a good “In Couple” story, Kevin shares the story of how he met his future wife, the very funny proposal story that comes with it, and caps it off by getting married in a three hundred and fifty-year-old Mexican church! During his first season in Playa Blanca in 1988, Kevin helped Bob Christians set up the trapeze rig! We end the interview with Kevin telling us who he enjoyed working with and the many, many recurring dreams he still has to this day about Club Med. Enjoy! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple podcasts.

My guest today worked for Club Med in 1989 in St. Lucia and Cancun as an Excursions G.O. We do not get many Excursion G.O.s on this podcast, so I am thrilled she agreed to come on and share her story. When she was in college, she worked at an archeological Museum, which helped with the excursions to the Mayan ruins in Mexico. From the city of Brotherly Love, please help me welcome, Rose Torelli! Before Club Med, Rose learned French in high school and visited Quebec and France. In her second semester in her junior year of college, Rose spent that time abroad in Paris and stayed with a French family. Prior to Club Med, Rose worked in New York City in PR in the fashion industry for Pierre Cardin, when she applied to Club Med at twenty-three years old. Rose details the excursions that both St. Lucia and Cancun offered in 1989. As much as I enjoy it when things go as planned, I asked Rose if she ever had an excursion go awry and one did, while she was on a snorkeling trip to Cozumel. As an Excursion G.O., they are not often in the village, but rest assured, she still did her share of Crazy Signs and shows! Rose also lets us know why her favorite excursion was the one to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and she explains the meaning behind the G.O. t-shirt, “Cancun II- Better Than Never!”. Rose took what she learned in Club Med when she later worked for an International Marketing Manager in a French-owned company and handled relations with affiliates all over the world. Please enjoy this episode with Rose! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, 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.

My guest today worked for Club Med from 1996 to 2001. His first season was in Club Med Punta Cana in 1996 as a Set Designer. He just might be the only set designer in Club Med that I have encountered who actually has a degree in Set Design from the University of Arizona. Around 1999, he helped form “The A Team”, in which my guest and a few others would travel from village to village evaluating the entertainment teams. I was working in Asia when this was going on and never had heard of it before now, so I had a few questions about that. We will also talk about how he helped design Sharkie’s in Turks in 1997 and also helped design the Circus show, “Circus Nightmares & Children’s Dreams”. He is now a college professor and has been living a very nomadic life for the last 10 years. Please help me welcome, from around the world, the one and only, Rapp! Rapp wanted to work and travel so he bought a book about working abroad and applied to Club Med. He had a phone interview and was sent to Punta Cana which turned out to be Kevin Batt’s first season as CDV. Rapp also worked in the villages of Cherating and Ria Bintan in Asia. When he needed supplies for Bintan, he had to cross the Strait of Malacca in a tiny speedboat dodging tankers and waves just to get fabric! Rapp helped with the reopening of Punta Cana in 2000 and Crested Butte in 2001. He was at the opening of Club Med Varadero and tells us about that experience and what it was like buying black-market staples in Cuba! Please enjoy this episode with Rapp! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, 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.

My guest’s name has come up before on this podcast, so it’s nice to finally sit down and talk to him. He worked for Club Med from 2013 to April of 2023 and his first season was in Club Med Sandpiper as Teen Club Manager. Before Club Med, he was working for Disney Cruises and before that, he was a teacher! He was also a Sports and Animation Manager at Club Med and he helped create a new position in 2018 at Columbus Isle called “Chief Happiness Manager” and if you know me, you know that I need to know all about that! From St. Louis, please help me welcome, the one and only, Lance Weinhardt! Lance might be the only G.O. to do a Skype interview with Club Med while dressed in a white tuxedo aboard a Disney cruise ship and then showing up to his first season in Sandpiper wearing a suit (no more spoilers)! Lance also worked in the villages of Turks & Caicos, Sahoro, Club Med 2, and Kabira. He has a story from his first season that I found so incredible, that I am not even going to hint at it here, you will just have to listen and find out (Okay, one hint: The Miami Dolphins)! Trust me, he is the only G.O. that I know that ever did this! Lance worked five times with CDV Julien Lettraz and he also worked with Jenny Lee, Pierre Jean, Shira Ben-Sefer, and David Meyer. Please enjoy this episode with Lance! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple podcasts.

My guest today worked for Club Med from 1987 to 1989. Her first season was in Club Med Martinique in 1987 as an Assistant Choreographer. She worked in Copper Mountain with my first CDV, Jean-Pierre Grand, and Arziv and Roi Soleil in Switzerland. For the last 21 years, she has owned a dance studio called “Real Dance” and we talked about that as well. We have never met, but she came highly recommended by a former CDV of mine and a former guest on this podcast. It turns out, she went to Turks and Caicos as a G.M. in 1985 where she met two of my favorite people, Angie Boucher and Hansel Moss. Angie was having her first season as a Hostess and she suggested that my guest try it! After her first season, she became a Chief of Animation and Choreographer in all her subsequent seasons. She met her future husband (who was Chief of Mini Club) in Club Med Copper Mountain, and they have been married for 32 years now. Who is this mystery guest? From Brooklyn, New York, and now living in the Sunshine State, please help me welcome, Suzanne DiVasto Citere! Suzanne takes us through all four of her seasons and despite hating winter like yours truly, she still somehow wound up in two different ski villages! We talk about Suzanne’s love of dance and if she thinks the 2000 movie “Center Stage” is the best dance movie of all time (Spoiler alert, she does not)! Suzanne is quite the storyteller with a vivid memory, so you will not want to miss this one. She has a pretty big claim to fame concerning the LipSync Show that she shares with us. Please enjoy this episode with Suzanne! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple podcasts.

I had the pleasure of working with my guest today during an amazing time in Club Med Playa Blanca during the 1996/1997 season. I then followed him and a few others after that season to Club Med Otranto during the summer of 1997, where he was my Chief of Sports. His first season was in Club Med Cefalu in 1992 as a Tennis G.O. Altogether he worked for Club Med from 1992 to 2001 in such places as Paradise Island, La Plagne, Metaponto, Haiti, Hammamet, and Ibiza, just to name a few. Please help me welcome, from Florence, Italy, Filippo Felloni, AKA, "Pippo"! A family member was working as a nurse in Club Med and thought Filippo would be a perfect fit, and the rest is history. Filippo worked in about 14 different villages in countries such as Italy, the Bahamas, France, Haiti, Mexico, Switzerland, Tunisia, Spain, and Indonesia. Along the way, he worked for Chiefs of Village Danny Stabielli, Lionel Benzoni, Dario Tognelli, Rico Paoletti, LouLou, Eric Peyronnet, Jimmy Chicheportiche, and Thierry Buche. After he left Club Med, Filippo stayed in the hospitality and tourism industry and is currently the General Manager of the 4-star hotel, Lungarno Vespucci 50 in Florence, Italy. Because Filippo and I worked two seasons together back-to-back in Playa Blanca and then Otranto in 1997, we talk about our fond, shared memories of the two villages. Filippo worked in some big villages such as Metaponto and Kamarina and I asked him while he was in Metaponto in 1995/1996, if they were doing “Baby Solo” there at the time. They were, and no spoilers, but you will have to listen to this interview to find out what a “Baby Solo” was (yikes)!! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, 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.

My guest today worked for Club Med from 1994 to 1995 in St. Lucia, Turks & Caicos, Paradise Island, and Playa Blanca. He met his future wife in Playa Blanca, and they have been married since 1996 and have 3 wonderful children. His first season was in Club Med St. Lucia as a Golf G.O. Please help me welcome, from beautiful Bozeman, Montana and now living in Carlsbad, California, Jason Stewart! Get this: Jason went to high school with my first-ever roommate in Club Med, and this G.O. is the one who got Jason the job at Club Med! The golf G.O. in St. Lucia had to leave, so this G.O. called Jason up and asked him if he wanted the position. Jason accepted, and the rest is history. Since I love hearing stories about G.O.s meeting, falling in love, and getting married, I asked Jason to go into detail on this story and he delivers! Jason shares an amazing celebrity encounter story from Paradise Island in 1994 with someone from the cast of ABC's “Growing Pains” and we talk about how Jason was briefly in Turks & Caicos during my first season in 1994, but we do not remember each other! At Turks, we both had the distinction of filling in for a certain God-like Landsports G.O. as “Rocky” in the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and talk about that experience. And because Jason was a golf G.O., we geek out a little over the best golf movie ever made (in my opinion), the 1980s “Caddyshack”. Jason shares a very special story about choreographer Jonathan Rodriguez (RIP), that you will want to hear, concerning Jason’s wedding. I hope you enjoy this episode and walk down memory lane with us! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, 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.

My guest today worked for Club Med from 1990 to 1993. His first season was in Club Med Paradise Island as a DJ. He was working for Club Med for, get this, credit! Yes, he was part of the Arizona State University internship program, where he graduated with a degree in International Tourism and Resort Management. Please help me welcome, from Boise, Idaho, Kris Robinson! While he was at ASU, Kris would see future 3x Masters champion, Phil Mickelson, on the golf course! Kris was President of the ASU International Tourism Student Association, and he initially did not want to go to the Club Med recruitment meeting when they came to ASU. It was only at the urging of his favorite professor that he agreed to attend. Kris was swayed by the Club Med presentation, in which 450 students applied and only 26 were chosen (Kris being one of them), and the rest is history. Kris worked in villages such as Eleuthera, Copper Mountain, Cancun, and Punta Cana. He did everything from DJ, Sailing, Ski Instructor, Bartender, Snorkeling/Picnic, and Landsports. He has very vivid memories of his first season in Paradise Island with CDV Fred Leroux and it was Kevin Batt’s first season as Chief of Sports. He went to his first season as a DJ, but Kevin wanted him on the sports team, so he did Sailing and also Snorkeling/Picnic that season. Kris lived in Greyleath, so of course I ask him about Paradise Island ghost stories, and he delivers! A natural storyteller, Kris has stories from all his seasons, so if you were an early 90s G.O., this episode is for you. Please enjoy! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, 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.

Mon invitée d'aujourd'hui est la première EXGO que j'ai interviewée qui a une page Wikipédia! Elle est chanteuse, mannequin, instructrice de yoga, enseignante et joue également du piano. Elle a travaillé pour le Club Med de 2015 à 2021 dans des villages tels que Turks et Caicos, Kani, Columbus Isle, Miches et Charlevoix. Sa première saison a été au Club Med Turks and Caicos en tant que sauveteuse. S'il vous plaît, aidez-moi à accueillir de Montréal, l'étonnante et talentueuse Sophie Vaillancourt! Avant le Club Med, Sophie a participé à l'émission télévisée Star Académie au Québec en 2009, puis à la version canadienne de Deal or No Deal, Le Banqier, en 2009 et 2010. J'aurais pensé que Sophie avait commencé à chanter très jeune, mais j'ai été très surprise d'apprendre qu'elle n'avait commencé à chanter sur un micro qu'à l'âge de quatorze ans, lorsqu'elle est allée au Club Med Varadero en tant que G.M. avec sa famille! Comme moi, Sophie a travaillé trois fois au Columbus Isle mais contrairement à moi, et entre les saisons du Columbus Isle, elle est partie en Inde pour obtenir sa certification en yoga! Puis en 2018, elle s'est rendue à Bali pour une méditation de dix jours en silence. Après sa dernière saison à Columbus en 2019, elle est partie en Thaïlande pour un cours de yoga méditation avancé! Comme si cela ne suffisait pas, après le Club Med en 2011, elle a terminé son baccalauréat à l'Université de Montréal en éducation préscolaire et primaire et poursuit actuellement une maîtrise (je n'ai rien fait de ma vie!). Sophie est aussi une artiste du Club Med, donc si vous êtes chanceux, vous aurez l'occasion de la voir et d'entendre sa belle voix en personne. Profitez de cette entrevue avec Sophie Vaillancourt! **Le podcast My First Season a toujours été gratuit et sans publicité et peut être téléchargé sur: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora et Listen Notes. Et si vous aimez ce que vous entendez, laissez un commentaire sur Apple Podcasts. Découvrez sa musique sur Spotify: Sophie Vaillancourt | Spotify Et Instagram: Sophie Vaillancourt (@sophievaillancourtyoga) • Instagram photos and videos Pour écouter son duo avec Céline Dion sur Star Académie, rendez-vous au point 8:30: Star Académie Medley 2009 - YouTube

My guest today is the first EXGO I have interviewed that has a Wikipedia page! She is a singer, model, yoga instructor, and teacher and she also plays the piano. She worked for Club Med from 2015 to 2021 in such villages as Turks and Caicos, Kani, Columbus Isle, Miches, and Charlevoix. Her first season was in Club Med Turks and Caicos as a Lifeguard. Please help me welcome from Montreal, the amazing and talented, Sophie Vaillancourt! Before Club Med, Sophie was on the Canadian singing competition TV show, Star Académie in Quebec in 2009, and then she was on the Canadian version of Deal or No Deal called Le Banqier in 2009 and 2010. I would have thought Sophie started singing at a very young age, but I was very surprised to find out that she only started singing on a microphone when she was fourteen years old when she went to Club Med Varadero as a G.M. with her family! Like me, Sophie worked at Columbus Isle three times but unlike me, and in between seasons of Columbus Isle, she went to India to get her yoga certification! Then in 2018, she traveled to Bali for a ten-day meditation in silence. After her last season in Columbus in 2019, she went to Thailand for an advanced yoga meditation course! If that wasn’t enough, after Club Med in 2011, she finished her bachelor’s degree at the University of Montreal in Preschool and Primary Education and is currently pursuing a master’s degree (I have done nothing with my life!). Sophie is also a Club Med Artist, so if you are lucky, you will get to see her and hear her beautiful voice in person. I asked her if she would not mind singing a few bars of a song I love, and she kindly agreed, so make sure you listen to the whole interview!! Please enjoy this interview with Sophie Vaillancourt!! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, 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 Sophie's music on Spotify: Sophie Vaillancourt | Spotify And her Instagram: Sophie Vaillancourt (@sophievaillancourtyoga) • Instagram photos and videos And if you want to see her duet with Celine Dion on Star Académie, it’s at the 8:30 mark: Star Académie Medley 2009 - YouTube

My guest today hails from Red Bluff, California, and worked for Club Med from 2002 to 2008 and then returned from 2010 to 2012. His first season was in Club Med Sandpiper as a Mini Club G.O. He was also a Ski Instructor, Landsports, Chief of Sailing, and Chief of Sports. Please help me welcome, Brian Tranbarger! Brian worked with CDVs such as Hammer, Gus, Joey Templin, Ryan Leach, Hendel, and Alessandro Cordogli (RIP), to name just a few. Before Club Med, Brian studied Kinesiology and Teacher Education, did the Hammer Throw, and was a PE teacher. One of his roommates at Chico State went to Club Med with his father on vacation and told Brian how great it was. Brian applied, drove four hours to San Francisco to meet the Club Med recruiter, and then did Country Swing for his interview and the rest is history! Brian’s first season in Sandpiper had quite the talent: Nicole Cooper, Boone, Trevor Rae, Arano, Adam Macy, Jennifer Lopez, James Martin, JP Delay, JK, Vlad Mayllen, David Meyer, and Bruno Santos were just some of the names that were on the Sandpiper team of 2002. Brian also worked in Crested Butte, Turks and Caicos, Ixtapa, Cancun, and Columbus Isle and we talk about each of these seasons and the many stories that came with working with a great bunch of people. We review his favorite Crazy Signs, the three things he misses the most about Club Med, and if he would do anything different. Please enjoy this episode with Brian! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, 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.

I never worked with my guest today, but we did meet at the EXGO Reunion in Cancun in 2010. He worked for Club Med from March 1995 to January 2002 and then went back from 2010 to 2013. His first season was in Club Med Turks and Caicos in 1995 as Landsports. He’s a graduate of Auburn University and has called eight countries and twenty cities home over the past twenty-six years. Please help me welcome, from Atlanta, Georgia, Scott Duncan, AKA, Scotty D! A friend of Scott’s had been to Club Med on vacation and told him all about it. Scott applied and drove to Club Med Sandpiper from Georgia, for his interview. In addition to landsports, Scott also worked as a Waterski G.O. and in Sandpiper from 2010-2013 he was in Sales. He has worked with CDVs such as Gregg Snyder, Howard McCarley, Stephan Roeina, Toutoune, Kevin Batt, Hammer, Houria Osmani, and Lionel Pirotte. My favorite story of his would be when he was thrown into water aerobics during his first season in Turks without ever having taught it or seen it! After Club Med, Scott worked for The Peninsula Hotel in NYC, the Ritz Carlton in Las Vegas, and the Four Seasons Resorts in the Maldives. Scott shares an amazing story where he met a member of “Canadian Royalty” (no spoilers, sorry!) when he was working for one of those hotels. We talk about the people he worked with, the things he misses the most about Club Med, and so much more. Please enjoy this interview with Scott!! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, 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.

My guest today worked for Club Med from October 2018 to March 2021. Her first season was in Club Med Cancun in 2018 as a Fitness G.O. Please help me welcome from Québec, the fabulous, Melissa Ferland!! Melissa was at the opening of Club Med Michès in the Dominican Republic in November 2019 and also worked at Turks and Caicos. Melissa was very busy in her life before Club Med. When she was in high school in 2009, Melissa placed first at the National Cheerleading Championships in Canada. She then obtained an Accountancy degree from the Université du Québec and is also a certified Cycling, Zumba Aqua-Zumba, and Zumba Kids instructor. In addition to this, Melissa is a nutrition coach, Yoga instructor personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, and a Naturopath N.D. Good lord!! Melissa makes me wonder what I’ve done with my life!! Melissa traveled the world extensively before Club Med and worked in Portugal in the summers of 2016-2018. She was teaching fitness classes on a short-term contract at a hotel in Cuba in 2018 when she realized she wanted to continue teaching fitness in resorts. She went to Google and typed in “fitness instructor in the Caribbean” and Club Med came up. Melissa takes us through her interview process, her first season in Cancun, what it was like opening Club Med Michès, and her season in Turks for the reopening in October 2020, which was closed due to COVID-19. She lets us know what she is up to now, and we talk about her website “Melissa Ferland-Holistic Fitness Coach” which offers online coaching in Fitness, Holistic Coaching, and Live Workouts (please see link below). Please enjoy this episode with Melissa!!**My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple podcasts. Please check out her website: Melissa Ferland - Holistic Fitness Coach (melissa-ferland.com) And please give her a follow on Instagram: Melissa Ferland (@melissaferland) | Instagram And Facebook: Facebook

My guest today is the author of three internationally best-selling books, and she is the publisher and editor of the world's most popular English language magazine about France with around 2.8 million readers per issue. She is also the editor of “The Good Life France” website, a travel writer, and a podcaster. Born in London, she now lives in the middle of nowhere rural northern France with her husband and an extended family of furry and feathered creatures! Please help me welcome, author and podcaster, Janine Marsh! Janine talks about finding her dream house in France one day without really wanting to find it. Parts of the house are 400 years old, there are twenty-one rooms and they have spent the last twenty years renovating the house! Janine takes us through her coup de foudre moment when she knew she was going to buy this house. We talk about her adjusting to the way of life in France and its many customs, such as the queue (or lack thereof!), the two-cheek kiss, and why everyone’s day was ruined when the Tour de France came by their village. Hint: it had to do with bread! We talk about Janine's many animals, her website, her podcast called, “The Good Life France” and the three books she has written, “My Good Life in France”, “My Four Seasons in France” and "Toujours la France”. I hope you enjoy this episode with a very entertaining and amusing guest!! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, 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 Janine’s website to find information on her books, magazine, and podcast, and much more: Home - The Good Life France And please check out her Instagram and give her a follow: FrenchJanine (@thegoodlifefrance) | Instagram

For today’s guest, I reached out to a former guest on this podcast and asked her if she had anyone amazing that she would recommend. Girl delivered. This incredible young man is from Dallas, Texas and he worked for Club Med from 2017 to 2021. His first season was in Club Med Sandpiper in 2017 as the DJ. If ever there was a name that belongs on a Club Med badge, it’s his. Why? Well, please help me welcome T.J. Walker, AKA, DJ T.J.!!! T.J. worked in the resorts of Columbus Isle and Turks and Caicos. He did not know much about Club Med when he applied on the worldwide employment website, indeed.com. During his interview, T.J. and a few other interviewees had to make up a dance for 1997’s “Freed From Desire” by Gala! As T.J. is one of the few guests on this podcast that just recently stopped working for Club Med, he is able to provide a fresh perspective on village life these days. T.J. lets us know what it was like working for Club Med during the pandemic and the challenges it presented. In terms of music, I ask him what his “guilty pleasure” songs are and they are not what you might think! When I asked T.J. what song was requested by French G.M.s at Sandpiper in 2017, he reminded me of a song I totally forgot about, the 2000s “Ces Soirées-là” by Yannick! Then, of course, Yannick gets referenced throughout this interview! No shade at all, that song is a banger! Please enjoy this episode with a very charming and personable young man! **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, Podchaser, 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 his Instagram and give him a follow!: 𝔻𝕁 𝕋𝕁 | 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝔻𝕁 (@officialdjtj) | Instagram

My guest today worked for Club Med from 1990 to 1999 and was a Set Designer, Choreographer, and Chief of Animation. He met John Shelly in New York City on an elevator and John gave him his business card. A few months later, my guest called John and was in a village less than a week later! His first season was in Club Med St. Lucia in 1990 as a Set Designer. Please help me welcome, from Toronto, Ontario, the only and only, Graham Maxwell!! As I discovered during this interview, Graham is one heck of a raconteur so get ready to be entertained! I don’t want to spoil any of his stories, so please do yourself a favor and listen to his entire interview! Graham tells a story about how he was not really feeling his first season, but a talk with Angie Boucher (who was Aerobics at the time) about how animation works and how Club Med functions as a whole, changed his mind and he decided to stay. Graham worked with many notable CDVs such as Kevin Batt, Hammer, Dirk Nouira, Pierre Letellier Gagnon, Howard McCarley, and Miredieu, to name but a few. Graham talks about one of the shows he is most known for and that is the rock opera “Tommy”, which he saw on Broadway in 1993 and adapted for a Club Med audience. He had quite the celebrity encounters, including being Jennifer Coolidge’s scene partner when the Groundlings, an improvisation and sketch comedy theatre from Los Angeles, came to Turks and Caicos in 1996-1997. He also met Joel Grey, Mitzie Gaynor, Mickey Rooney, Patti LuPone, and five-time Grammy award winner Michael Bublé, who was a Club Med Artiste in Club Med Cancun in ’97 if you can believe that! Graham mentions a lot of names from the past, so if you were an early 90s G.O., you will love this episode with a very entertaining person! (Editor’s note: The song by Patti Lupone that I meant was the best song ever sung is “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from the Broadway play “Evita” and not the song Evita as I had stated). Please enjoy!! **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, Podchaser, 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.