Mullinger Meets Canadians

Bonus: Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman

In this very special episode, James Mullinger is reunited with the first person that he ever interviewed over 25 years ago: his all all-time hero, Lloyd Kaufman. As any movie fan will know, Lloyd Kaufman is the director of The Toxic Avenger films and co-founder of Troma Entertainment, the longest running independent movie studio in North America.

 

Lloyd is a proud New Yorker and is the first non-Canadian to ever appear on the show, because without Lloyd this show wouldn’t exist. 

 

Born in New York in 1945, Lloyd graduated from Yale University in 1968, where he majored in Chinese studies. His fellow Yale classmates included Oliver Stone and George W. Bush. In 1974, Lloyd and his business partner Michael Herz founded Troma Entertainment and began producing and distributing independent action and comedy films. At the same time, Kaufman also did freelance work for major Hollywood productions including Rocky and Saturday Night Fever. Lloyd is still making films now including such instant classics as Return To Nuke Em High Volume 2 and Shakespeare’s Sh*tstorm. 

 

Many high profile filmmakers began their careers at Troma. Kevin Costner’s first movies were with Troma. James Gunn began his career with Troma. Trey Parker and Matt Stone made Cannibal: The Musical for Troma before creating South Park. Others whose careers were helped by Troma include Eli Roth, Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Robert De Niro. Troma continues to be a haven for independent directors and young talent during an era of corporate takeovers. Indeed, James Mullinger’s first foray into magazine editing was a Troma fanzine aged 12 and his excitement at speaking with his hero once again, is palpable.

 

Doug Jones

Mullinger meets Doug Jones, the founder and CEO of Ignite Labs proudly based in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Doug is an innovator, inventor and entrepreneur with over 20-years’ experience in product design and business development working with global sports companies such as Wilson, Louisville Slugger, Rawlings, Toronto Blue Jays, Phil Simms Quarterback Camps, Pro Performance Sports and many more.

 

But in 2018, Doug founded Ignite Labs and has been leading the organization to develop a start up and innovation ecosystem in rural Nova Scotia. A real game changer for the region, Ignite helps rural communities innovate by providing access to technology, resources, and mentorship for start ups and proves that you don’t need to be in a big city to think big and deliver big.

 

Open to any industry or sector, Ignite helps make ideas become reality and Doug is currently helping the growth of over 30 companies in including a film production company, an independent game studio, a sports brand, catering firm and even a British boutique.

 

By providing structure, mentoring and partnerships for new companies to operate in a lean start up environment outside of the traditional corporate world, Ignite Labs are making a real difference and Doug shares the secrets of his success.

 

Mullinger Meets Canadians is brought to you by Nova Scotia Business Inc.

Wolf Castle

Mullinger meets Wolf Castle, a 24-year-old Indigenous Mi’kmaq rapper, producer and singer from Pabineau First Nation. Everything about Tristan defies the odds. He taught himself how to play piano at the age of 11. He writes and records all of his own work and he has been releasing music projects every year since the age of 17. 

 

He found huge success playing festivals across Canada and quickly secured nominations at the East Coast Music Awards for Indigenous Artist of the Year and for Recording of the Year. This year he is nominated for two more East Coast Music Awards and is also part of the 2021 ECMA Festival & Conference, from 5th to 9th in Sydney, Nova Scotia. For more information on the 2021 EMCAs, please visit ecma.com.

 

The week before we spoke, he released Gunna, the first single from his upcoming EP via the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based label Forward Music Group. One of Canada’s most respected record labels proudly based in Nova Scotia. In a few short years, Wolf Castle has grown from a bedroom producer into one of the most prolific and important Indigenous hip hop artists working in Canada today.

 

Mullinger Meets Canadians is brought to you by Nova Scotia Business Inc.

Mayor Mike Savage

Mullinger meets the Mayor of Halifax, Nova Scotia to learn why the city was just declared the best place to live in all of Canada.

 

Mike Savage was first elected Mayor of Halifax on October 20, 2012, with a mandate to make Halifax the most livable, entrepreneurial and inclusive city in Canada. Despite obvious challenges in the past fourteen months, the city is booming right now and last year on October 17, 2020, he was elected for an impressive third term with a landslide victory. 

 

Mayor Savage and his wife Darlene have two adult children and live in Dartmouth where Mike grew up and attended school before graduating from Dalhousie University.

 

In October 2015, Mayor Savage was selected by his counterparts from across the country to co-chair the Syrian refugee response task force, drawing cities together to share best practices in response to the Syrian refugee crisis and resettlement.

 

Mullinger Meets Canadians is brought to you by the Halifax Partnership.

Diani Blanco

Mullinger meets community legend Diani Blanco, who has triumphed over much adversity and become a hugely respected keynote speaker, activist, philanthropist, the CEO and founder of Infyno Group, host of an acclaimed podcast and single mother of two beautiful children.

 

Born in Dominican Republic, Diani Blanco moved to New Brunswick at the age of 10. She spent much of her early years feeling out of place. From being bullied in school and suffering physical abuse at home, Diani became suicidal in her early teens. At 15 years old, she was permanently placed in the foster care system and during this time, she was also in an abusive relationship. Diani was determined to change her life around after becoming a mother at 19 years old. 

 

At 23 years old, Diani created Infyno Group, a non-profit organization dedicated to help teenagers who are going through dating abuse. She traveled to high schools across New Brunswick as an inspirational speaker and shared her story to educate teens and encourage them to speak up. 

 

After losing everything in a fire in August in 2019 and having nowhere else to go with her two kids, she felt defeated and became depressed. But like a true leader, she rose up and a few months later co-founded the Queens of Heart organization in the early days of the global pandemic to offer food and support to single parents, to ensure that no family is left behind. 

Neon Dreams

Mullinger heads to Dreaming Out Loud Studio in Enfield, Nova Scotia to meet Frank Kadillac and Adrian Morris from alt-pop musical sensation Neon Dreams. James learns how the band has risen from humble Maritimes beginnings to international acclaim by successfully touring North America, releasing one of 2019’s songs of the summer “Sweet Dreams till Sunbeams”, and winning 2020’s Juno award for breakthrough artist of the year.

 

These childhood friends, along with their broader Neon Dreams family, have been making music together for well over a decade. Through evolutions of sound, and personal challenges, bullying, childhood trauma and growth, they have stayed true to themselves and are proud to continue to call Nova Scotia home.''

 

Featured song: 

Brought to you by Podstarter and The Maritime Edit in collaboration with Halifax Partnership. To learn more about Halifax Partnership click here

Omar Gandhi

James travels to Halifax, Nova Scotia to meet globally renowned architect and Ontario export, Omar Gandhi. Omar studied architecture at Dalhousie University, and in 2012 at the age of just 30, started Omar Gandhi Architect, his own design studio and architectural practice in Halifax.

His unique vision and far-reaching insight and creativity have led to some of the most blisteringly stunning developments in North America. He is the recipient of many awards and distinctions including being named one of Monocle Magazine's 20 most influential Canadians, and one of the Top 20 Young Architects in the world by Wallpaper Magazine. Omar tells James about why he chose to call Nova Scotia home.

Brought to you by Podstarter and The Maritime Edit in collaboration with Halifax Partnership. To learn more about Halifax Partnership click here

Jolene Laskey

Mullinger meets entrepreneur Jolene Laskey. Jolene is the founder and president of Wabanaki Maple, a 100% Indigenous female-owned maple syrup manufacturer at the edge of Neqotkuk, also known as Tobique First Nation. 

 

She was inspired to create this business based on what we are lucky enough to have access to here on the East Coast of Canada. She explains how her locally sourced syrup is aged in repurposed oak barrels acquired from Kentucky whisky distilleries and how she has attracted people to the region, the ways that the Atlantic Canadian business community has supported her and how she continues to grow.

Tyler Simmonds

Mullinger meets filmmaker, fashion designer, keynote speaker and mental health advocate Tyler Simmonds. Tyler’s award-winning films, keynote speeches and TED Talks on mental health and mindfulness, led to the Huffington Post naming him one of the “10 Inspirational People Under 30 You Should Be Following.”

Born on January 26, 1990 Tyler grew up in North Preston and struggled with his mental health throughout his childhood. His first critically acclaimed short film, In My Mind, looked at mental health in the black community. And his second film, There's Soul in Our Soil, examined intergenerational trauma caused by racism.

Tyler and James discuss what people in Atlantic Canada can do more to support black owned businesses, how to deal with ignorance, racism in Canada, why cancelling people doesn’t work and that rather than calling them out we should call them in. Settle in, and listen up.

Candy Palmater

Mullinger meets Candy Palmater, one of his favourite people in the whole world. Candy once described herself as “a gay native recovered lawyer turned feminist comic, who was raised by bikers in the wilds of northern New Brunswick.” But even that unique title doesn’t do justice to the intelligence and brilliance of this incredibly versatile performer, artist, thinker, comedian, broadcaster and creator of the hit TV series The Candy Show and host of the daily CBC interview series The Candy Palmater Show. She is one of this country’s greatest talents and this is one of the most in-depth and moving interviews yet.