Full Exposure With Brian Kelly

SuperDre, aka Andrea Wallace, might best be known as a musician, extremely popular DJ and producer. But underneath the 1000’s of appearances in clubs and private parties around the world, Dre has quietly spent the majority of her time as a tech savvy entrepreneur in the startup space…with a stable of tech companies under her management. If that’s not enough, Dre most recently launched a sprits company with her partners called “Motu Viget” and they just released a new sparkling wine that’s making waves in bars, restaurants and soon will appear on Meijer shelves and other retailers. Dre doesn’t pull any punches on this episode, especially about what it’s like to be a woman and a minority in the very white, very male world ecosystem of startups and venture capital. If you’re looking for a conversation that inspires you to pursue and develop every part of yourself…even though you might feel like you have no idea what you’re doing, this is your episode. Dre says a lot of the early development and pitches of startu

Since 2012, Joel Potrykus has arguably become one of the most successful and unusual independent film directors to ever emerge out of Michigan and land on the global cinema stage. Despite all of his success, Joel says he “doesn’t enjoy the process of making a movie.” Doesn’t that seem like a weird thing for a film director to say? Maybe…but not after you listen to this episode. Joel and I take a deep dive into his filmmaking and writing process, why he makes films in Grand Rapids when he doesn’t have to, why he thinks of his tight-knit and frequent film collaborators function as more of a band than a production company, as well as the many reasons he loves casting the incredibly talented Joshua Burge as the lead actor in many of his films. Joel’s previous films Ape, Buzzard and The Alchemist Cookbook all established him as a genius writer & director of odd, offbeat and campy films. The tone and style of his films caught the attention of, and quickly forged a business and creative relationship with famed i

David Wenzel has lived with an inoperable, cancerous brain tumor for the last 10 years. After initially being diagnosed, David’s life completely fell apart...and I do mean COMPLETELY fell apart. His first wife divorced him shortly after his diagnosis, the cat they had shared together collapsed mid-stride across the dining room floor…and died. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine dealing with all of the above PLUS the terminal diagnosis that estimated David only had 5 years left to live on this planet…and that’s if he was lucky. And the amazing part of David’s journey is that today he feels extremely lucky, and the happiest he’s ever been in his entire life. David’s incredibly raw, honest and often times hilarious life story is told in his new book, “Thank You, Kung Fu.” I highly recommend it because I believe it will help you or maybe someone you love. It certainly helped me. David and I dig into a ton of real life shit in this conversation. It’s inspiring. It's spiritual. It’s emotional. I actuall

Ansley Gulielmi, at the age of 19, is already a supermodel and a Top 50 Fashion Model in the world. And you might ask...ok, Brian...so what does Top 50 even mean? Well, it’s actually a business metric that measures the total number of magazine pages she’s in, plus advertising campaigns and global runway shows. But what it really means is that Ansley has become a really big business since she moved to New York City just 3 years ago at 16. Ansley’s been on the covers of Vogue, Número and also featured in many, many magazine spreads across the globe. More importantly, Ansley has recently been the face of major advertising campaigns by famed fashion houses Jil Sander, Givenchy and Versace, just to name a few. Ansley’s very candid in our interview about the pressures of running a successful business...because her body and face is literally the entire business. She’s set big goals for herself in an industry that is notorious for grinding up young talent and spitting them out. But I guarantee after listening to this

Kathryn Chaplow is someone who over the last 14 years has built one of the most unique and successful interior design firms in West Michigan that is working in both residential and commercial design. We discuss why she doesn’t put photos of her pancakes on Instagram, and how she’s built her 5-person firm largely without creating a lifestyle brand around herself on social media. Kathryn is highly focused on creating a positive culture around herself and her clientele and we spend time talking about how she fosters the individual talents of each of her designers on staff. And how the runaway success of programs on HGTV and Marie Kondo on Netflix pose specific challenges for designers. Follow @kathrynchaplowdesign @fullexposurepodcast on Instagram and Full Exposure With Brian Kelly on Facebook. This podcast is fueled by passion, Brian Kelly Photography and Film and Brian Kelly Productions.

Adeshola Makinde is a multi-media artist based in Grand Rapids, Michigan that is constantly evolving at the age of 28. He was raised in the Chicagoland suburbs. He got his start in photography taking photos at parties, concerts, fashion shows and other cultural events. He eventually found himself hustling to concerts around the country to photograph some of the most famous performers in music, both onstage and off. We’re talking about artists like D’Angelo, Lil Wayne, Travis Scott and Common to name a few. Some young photographers would call that a major success, and just keep doing that. But eventually Adeshola found himself longing to say much more with his work than just documenting live events…so, he started a small street wear label that began to experiment with social justice messages. And now today, he finds himself working in collage…sourcing and cutting out images and words from vintage magazines like Jet, Ebony Magazine and The Black Panther Party Newsletter. He then creates new collages and comment

If you look at the surreal creations of industrial designer Joey Ruiter, you might think he arrived here from the future. Brian and Joey discuss his career as a designer, his early struggles as an entrepreneur and studio owner. They also discuss how Joey collaborates on projects with photographers and videographers that document his futuristic designs to create crazy exposure of his work in books and magazines around the world. Check out Joey Ruiter at www.jruiter.com This episode is powered by passion, Brian Kelly Photography and Film and Brian Kelly Productions. You can view more of the portraits Brian creates of each guest in his studio just before they sit down to record their conversations here.

Bridget Clark Whitney is a powerhouse. She's the founding CEO of Kids' Food Basket, a multi-million dollar non-profit organization that addresses childhood hunger in West Michigan. Kids' Food Basket's explosive growth has made Bridget a highly strategic community leader and recognizable public figure. But her intense passion and all-consuming drive over the last 17 years to address hunger came at great cost to her health, and she nearly died from a combination of issues that forced her to look at many things in her life in a new and innovative light. This is a dense, inspiring and energizing episode that I promise will fly by...so let's do this...or as Bridget would say, "LEVEL UP!" This is episode is powered by passion Brian Kelly Photography & Film and Brian Kelly Productions.  

David Dyer is a seasoned and successful full-time comedian that travels the country. But Dave and Brian have also been friends since they were 7 years old. Brian starts off the podcast by settling an old beef that stemmed from Brian not inviting Dave to his 8th birthday party. They hash that issue out, reminisce about the joy of huge collisions playing football together and also talk about Dave's very successful career in comedy, growing up with 3 older brothers and why performing stand-up is the hardest form of entertainment. Check out David Dyer at www.daviddyercomedy.com and on IG @dyercomedy. If you want to view the portraits I make of each of my guests just before we sit down for our conversation, you can find them at www.briankellyphoto.net This podcast episode is powered by passion and www.briankellyphoto.net.

Do you guys like beer? Graci Harkema is the new Director of Inclusion and Diversity for Founders Brewing Company. She holds one of the few positions like this within the entire craft beer industry and she's perfectly suited for the position. Graci talks to me about her incredible story of survival as an infant in her birthplace of the Republic of the Congo, growing up in West Michigan as an adoptee, how she mistakenly thought her birth mother was dead her entire life...and what happened when she recently got on a plane and flew to The Congo to meet her for the first time in her village...and so much more!

The tale of two Brians...this very first episode of "Full Exposure" features Brian Vander Ark; lead singer of The Verve Pipe, successful solo artist, actor and writer. Brian and Brian discuss storytelling, songwriting, the value of being methodical, how Willie Nelson gave Brian a big boost of confidence early in his career, his friendship with A-list actor Jeff Daniels, and how owning your own failure has led to a successful corporate speaking career. Check it out! Leave us a comment and a rating if you like what we are doing. Follow Brian Vander Ark @thevervepipe and www.brianvanderark.com Follow Brian Kelly @briankellyphoto and www.briankellyphoto.net