The Bold Leaps Podcast

Chef Vikram Vij Creates a Feast of a Life

@boldleaps  Season 1 Finale One of Canada’s Most Beloved Chefs, TV Personality and Author Vikram Vij
Vikram was born in India to middle class parents, a hard-working father and a sweet, nurturing mother. Perhaps due to his blue eyes, which are as rare as a white tiger, or his natural charm, either way, he says he was pampered like the village cow. As a young boy he loved to cook, eat, and perform all to great praise. He says that becoming a Bollywood Actor was his dream but being a chef was his fate. At 19 his fate seemed sealed when he got the opportunity to go to Austria to study to be a chef. It was there that he was presented with another opportunity to work at the Banff Springs Hotel. From there he moved to Vancouver to work in prestigious restaurants sharpening his skills until a fateful series of events lined up for the destiny of owning his own restaurant: His parents arrived from India with a paper bag full of money to cover the lease, his mother rode the bus every day with a pot full of homemade curry and he was introduced to passionate powerhouse Meeru Dhalwala who would become his wife and business partner. Vijs The Restaurant was born, and soon skyrocketed into notoriety world wide, and parlayed into cookbooks, more restaurants, product lines, food trucks and TV appearances, including a season on Dragon’s Den. The success of the food empire with the duo at its helm was meteoric, until the fate seemed to change.
 
#chef #inspirationalvideo #inspirational #artist #inspiringstories #author #cookbook #bollywood #actor #commitment #craft #perseverance #performance #risk #pursueyourdreams #dreams @cbcdragons #interview #tvshow #tv #celebrity #restaurant #vancouver
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For Vikram's Social Media IG @chefvikramvij IG @eatdrinkvijs FB @Vijs
For more Bold Leaps behind the scenes IG @Boldleaps FB @Lisa Letwin tiktok @boldleaps website www.boldleaps.ca youtube @boldleaps
About Bold Leaps: @boldleaps Lisa Bagshaw creates, hosts and produces Bold Leaps which runs on CHEK TV and YouTube. After 30 years in media sales Lisa chose to take her own bold leap (at 60) and start her own TV show interviewing interesting, inspiring people from a vast array of creative backgrounds about the risks they've taken to pursue their dreams. Her goal is to inspire people to pursue their dreams by interviewing super successful, talented, creative, inspiring people who are the best at what they do nationally and internationally, and also had to combat fear, insecurity, self doubt and anxiety. Just like she does.
Every step you take is a step toward your dream.

Internationally Renowned Visual Artist Ian Wallace on his Meteoric Rise in the Art World

One of Canada’s Greatest Contemporary Visual Artists, the brilliant Ian Wallace Ian was born on the Shoreham Coast of England before his Canadian parents moved to the Interior of BC to a life of adventure and expansive landscapes. His parents then moved their 5 sons to North and then West Vancouver where Ian’s artistic talent and entrepreneurialism began to flourish. His nearsightedness prevented him from playing sports so he turned to his studies, writing, and a natural talent for painting. He was soon known as the school artist. And by his early teens he was selling portraits and landscapes to his friends and neighbours. Life after high school took on a fast pace of leaving home at 17, working odd jobs, getting married, having a son, and pursuing his passion of studying art history at UBC at night and practicing art by day. Once he was at University, the embodiment of Ian Wallace as an artist, teacher, philosopher, historian and writer took shape. For three decades he was a highly respected lecturer and student of art history. When he was just 22, his work was featured at the Vancouver Art Gallery and ever since, the trajectory of his career has been ground breaking and meteoric. His work is internationally renowned, exhibited and studied and has put Vancouver and its esteemed artists from the Vancouver School on the map as leaders in photo conceptualism.
#inspirational #artist #inspiringstories #interview #teacher #philosopher #arthistory #photography #photoconceptualism #canadianartists #canadianart #visualartist #contemporaryart
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About Bold Leaps: @boldleaps Lisa Bagshaw creates, hosts and produces Bold Leaps which runs on CHEK TV and YouTube. After 30 years in media sales Lisa chose to take her own bold leap (at 60) and start her own TV show interviewing interesting, inspiring people from a vast array of creative backgrounds about the risks they've taken to pursue their dreams. Her goal is to inspire people to pursue their dreams by interviewing super successful people who also had to combat fear, insecurity, self doubt and anxiety. Just like she does.
Every step you take is a step toward your dream.

Award Winning Comedian, Actor and Writer Jennifer Robertson on the Rise to Fame

Season 1 E24 Award Winning Actress, Writer, and Comedian Jennifer Robertson comes by her humour and her talent honestly.   Her father was one of Canada’s funniest and most beloved political satirists, Bob Robertson of CBC's Double Exposure, and Jenn's easy humour does not fall far from the tree.
Due to her super busy schedule on Canadian Pottery Throwdown, and shooting season three of Ginny and Georgia, we met for the first time on zoom prior to the interview so I could find out more about her inspiring life. Instantly, she had me laughing so hard I choked on my coffee. In fact, she had me laughing throughout the entire pre interview and the interview. Even though you could argue there isn't a lot to laugh about when you go for an audition for Schitt's Creek and you literally apply at Petco to stock shelves while you're waiting to hear back, because things are so dire. Neither is it funny to bomb doing stand up in front of thousands of people in London. But she did that too, and she said it was the best thing that ever happened to her because she thought if she could get through that, she could get through anything.
So inspiring!
She sharpened her teeth taking courses and writing at iconic Canadian comedy series SCTV when she was 18, and for decades, divided her time between Toronto, Vancouver and LA as a working actress, writer, and comedian winning awards for almost everything she did. But her career was not a straight line and not without rejection, self doubt and hard times. It wasn’t until she got the role of Joceyln on International Success Schitts Creek that her career began to soar. After 6 extremely successful seasons as the world’s favourite mayor’s wife, she landed a lead role on Netflix sensation Ginny and Georgia and her career has been on an upwards trajectory ever since.
#inspirational #artist #inspiringstories #writer #comedy #comedian #standupcomedy #actor #audition #commitment #craft #perseverance #performance #risk #pursueyourdreams #dreams  @SchittsCreek  #ginnyandgeorgia #canadianpotterythrowdown #interview #scriptwriting #sitcom   @CBC   @Netflix  
thank you for watching!
For Jennifer's Social Media IG @frennifer
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About Bold Leaps:  @boldleaps Lisa Bagshaw creates, hosts and produces Bold Leaps which runs on CHEK TV and YouTube. After 30 years in media sales Lisa chose to take her own bold leap (at 60) and start her own TV show interviewing interesting, inspiring people from a vast array of creative backgrounds about the risks they've taken to pursue their dreams. Her goal is to inspire people to pursue their dreams by interviewing super successful people who also had to combat fear, insecurity, self doubt and anxiety. Just like she does.
Every step you take is a step toward your dream.  

Pie Maker Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin takes Pie to New Heights

World Famous Pie Artist and Author, otherwise known as The Pieous, Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin @thepieous Jessica was brought up in a richly stimulating environment with encouraging, high achieving parents. A father who had an esteemed career in aerospace technology and a mother who was an equally esteemed artist. She grew up with her father advising, follow your bliss and have a business plan, and her mother’s advice, make a mess. This combination of science and art, entrepreneurialism, and adventure, has beautifully meshed in everything Jessica pursues and achieves. Although she says she was a nerd in high school, she also had an unwavering “pathological confidence” to try new things. Like her father, she started out in Physics in University, and after a couple of years, left that and played guitar in a punk band called Slag. Once that was out of her system, she got serious about art, design and film making and experienced enormous success in everything she did. In 2016, while making films that won awards, she started baking pies and posting them on social media. It wasn’t long before her wildly creative and architecturally inspiring pies went viral. Her new career and brand, The Pieous, skyrocketed into millions of downloads, international TV appearances, online courses, best selling cookbooks and even Ripley’s Believe it or Not!.
#inspirational #storytelling #vancouver #interview #risk #boldleaps #bold #grit #determination #resilience #pursueyourdreams #pie #physics #chemistry #science #artist #art #architecture #popculture #fun #community #filmmaker #brilliant #businessplan
Thank you for listening!
 
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About Bold Leaps: @boldleaps Lisa Bagshaw creates, hosts and produces Bold Leaps which runs on CHEK TV and YouTube. After 30 years in media sales Lisa chose to take her own bold leap (at 60) and start her own TV show interviewing interesting, inspiring people from a vast array of creative backgrounds about the risks they've taken to pursue their dreams. Her goal is to inspire people to pursue their dreams by interviewing super successful people who also had to combat fear, insecurity, self doubt and anxiety. Just like she does.
And remember, very step you take is a step toward your dream.

Leila Getz of Vancouver Recital Gets Things Done!

Leila Getz, Artistic Director of the  @vanrecital  is of the world’s leaders in fostering classical music talent, especially from youth. When Leila was one year old living in Cape Town, South Africa, her father went to war, and she was brought up by her mother and her mother’s sister. It was Aunt Ree, who first exposed Leila to a wild and colorful world of artists, performers, and the theater. In University, Leila studied music and was proficient at piano and cello. But she herself had no desire to perform. So she took up teaching and worked as a concert page turner. At 25 she met and married her husband within three weeks, and moved with him back to Vancouver where he was working at UBC. Again she tried teaching music but she no more wanted to be a teacher than a housewife. It was when she decided to create her own music series, that her life completely changed. She set up appointments with music managers in New York City and hopped on a plane by herself to pursue her dreams. As a result of all these bold leaps, Leila has presented Canadian debut performances of some of the world’s most brilliant and respected young musicians, many of whom are now superstars, built a loyal and diverse audience of nearly 45 years and is the recipient of both the Order of BC and the Order of Canada for her achievements
#inspirational #storytelling #classicalmusic #music #performance #vancouver #theatre #interview #risk #boldleaps #bold #grit #determination #resilience #nevergiveup #pursueyourdreams
 
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Joe Keithley, aka Joey Shithead of Legendary Punk Rock Sensation DOA Never Gives Up

And today’s guest on  @boldleaps  is Legendary, Canadian Music Hall of Famer, Joey Shithead, founder and frontman of DOA, International hardcore, punk sensation. Joseph Edward Keithley was born in the mid fifties on Burnaby Mountain, at a time when most of the Dads on his street were war veterans who had been given 2 acres of land and a house. Even though his father held firm on right winged opinions, Joe, from an early age had different ideas. At 8 years old, Joe remembers being deeply affected by key issues in the world, including the Vietnam war, nuclear testing, and environmental issues. And then there was music. At 11 he wanted a drum set. His mother helped him with the cost of the kit and he started playing in the basement much to his father’s chagrin. By the time he was 16, Joe and a few of his high school buddies were playing in a band and protesting for Greenpeace. After a brief experience at law school, he decided that was not for him, and at 18, he left home with $100 and his sleeping bag and pursued his dream of music. This fusion of Joe’s two passions music and activism has prevailed in Joe’s life to this day. His incredible life has been an octane-fueled, fast-paced, outrageous adventure of being known not only as the Godfather of Hardcore Punk, but also an outspoken activist, protester, and a man in service of the community.
 
#punkrock #doa #musician #author #activist #inspirational #makingadifference #changetheworld #protest #politics #interview #boldleaps #takearisk #risk #goforit #havefun #diy #selftaught
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About Bold Leaps: Bold Leaps is a self created, self promoted TV show on CHEK TV and YouTube by Lisa Bagshaw, who after 30 years in the media behind the camera, chose to take her own bold leap (at 60) and start her own TV show interviewing interesting, inspiring people from a vast array of creative backgrounds. Her goal is to inspire people to pursue their dreams by interviewing super successful people who also had to combat fear, insecurity, self doubt and anxiety. Just like she does. Just like you do? Take a Leap today!
Every step you take is a step toward your dreams

Internationally Renowned Florist and Plant Guru Not Afraid to Take Risks

On this episode of  @boldleaps  Internationally renowned florist, master gardener and author, Vancouver Based, Thomas Hobbs. Tom says he has been obsessed with plants since birth. Growing up in minus 50 degrees in Winnipeg, his obsession was a mystery to his family. But that didn’t stop Tom’s parents from supporting him. In grade six his mom made his dad build him a greenhouse, so he could grow and sell plants. When he was only 18 years old he opened his first plant store in Dunbar, at a time there was no such thing as plant stores, that led to another location in Richmond and three years later, when he was 21, Tom realized he needed to do floral arrangements to pay for the plants. He found the old TD bank building on West 41st street in Vancouver and decided to lease it and open a flower shop. He fell in love with the location and the building but he didn’t have the money or experience. But that didn’t stop him. He took the leap and leased the building. But it wasn’t until he did something so controversial that it put him on the map internationally and his business began to soar.
#inspiringstories #selftaught #florist #flowers #gardener #entrepreneur #risktaker #nofear #goforit #dreams #artist #author #inspirational 
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About Bold Leaps: Bold Leaps is a self created, self promoted TV show on CHEK TV and YouTube by Lisa Bagshaw, who after 30 years in the media behind the camera, chose to take her own bold leap (at 60) and start her own TV show interviewing interesting, inspiring people from a vast array of creative backgrounds. Her goal is to inspire people to pursue their dreams by interviewing super successful people who also had to combat fear, insecurity, self doubt and anxiety. Just like her. Just like you?

Canadian Sculptor David Robinson on Tension in the Creative Process

Internationally acclaimed, award winning Canadian Sculptor David Robinson. David grew up in a very religious family with a charismatic Preacher Father, without much exposure to art. But David always believed he was born with inherent gifts, and his art was his calling. As a child he was always building structures, and his parents supported his path. He went on to pursue extensive and acclaimed studies in Fine Arts across Canada. Emerging from the “Petrie dish of his childhood” as he calls it, David’s internationally renowned art is created from a bronze, steel, silver, concrete, paper and mirrors. It takes the form of massive, meaningful monuments which are filled with seemingly tortured figures fraught with risks, tension, struggle, and conflict, which may mimick the human condition… and perhaps his childhood. But as highly acclaimed and award winning as David’s career has been, it is not a straight line.
 
#artist #art #inspiringstories #inspirational #pursueyourdreams #takearisk #clay #sculpture  @robinsonstudiogallery7814   @boldleaps 
 
thanks for listening!
 
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Queer Artist Puppyteeth Overcomes Addiction and Becomes International Sensation

#inspiringstories #inspirational #artist
​​@boldleaps today's inspirational episode Illustrator, Designer, Writer, Activist, Queer Artist Jaik Puppyteeth. Jaik Olson grew up in the small, bucolic town of Radium Hot Springs with fearless parents who believed Jaik could do anything he wanted to do. As a little boy, Jaik was always fascinated by vintage cartoons and ads. He loved to draw from an early age and even sold his art to galleries in high school. After high school, Jaik carried this belief in himself, and took himself to Vancouver to attend Emily Carr to pursue his dream of being an artist. But the dream shattered when after four years of art school, Jaik had no phone and a fairly hefty drug problem. He left himself no choice but to drop out. But the astonishing thing is, a year later, in his early 20s, Jaik got sober, quit his day job, committed to his art full time and went back to Emily Carr to finish his final year. And that’s when his career skyrocketed. Puppyteeth’s brand of bold, beautiful, absurd characters, in various states of peril, driven by, in his words, “an acute sense of self loathing” shot him and his unique style of art into internet fame.
#inspiringstories #inspirational #artist #creative #expression #art #overcomingobstacles #focus #boldleaps #success #humour #takearisk #cartoon #vintage #illustration #design #writer #activist
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Filmmaker Jennifer Abbott Creates Beauty and Magnificence

On this episode of @boldleaps Internationally acclaimed Film Maker, Jennifer Abbott. Jennifer comes from a long line of highly accomplished family including Prime Minister John Abbott, Maude Abbott, one of the first female doctors in Canada and actor Christopher Plummer. Always a deep thinker, in University she studied Radical Political Thought, Deep Ecology and Women’s Studies. After briefly thinking about law school, she enrolled at Emily Carr to study Film Making. But after a couple of years, she decided she could teach herself everything she needed to know. And that she did. She went out on her own and began producing, directing, editing and doing sound on films telling stories about subjects that mattered to her. Her deep-seeded passion for causes including the climate crisis, corporate greed, animal rights, homelessness, grief and loss fueled her internationally acclaimed film career with such award winning films as The Corporation which is heralded as one of Canada’s best documentaries and The Magnitude of All Things, which also received awards and high praise.
#inspiringstories #inspirational #pursueyourdreams #takearisk #filmmaker #film #documentary #storiesthatmatter #storytelling #editor #director #producer #selftaught
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