He sang the national anthem for the Colorado Avalanche a thousand times, coached 4,000 inner-city kids, lost it all, and rebuilt on the beaches of Normandy — where a WWII veteran watched children playing on Utah Beach and said through tears: "That's why we came."

Jake Schroeder—former frontman of OP Gone Bad, national anthem singer for the Colorado Avalanche, and executive director of the Denver Police Activities League—now runs the D-Day Leadership Academy, bringing inner-city youth to Normandy, France to learn leadership through the stories of World War II.

After concussions, insurance costs, and political shifts dismantled his youth sports programs serving 4,000 kids a year, Jake pivoted. Inspired by the WWII veterans he’d been bringing back to Omaha Beach and Utah Beach since 2011, he transformed his nonprofit into a Normandy-based leadership program built on five pillars drawn from D-Day: leading from the front, total commitment to mission, chaos, preparation, and empathy. In this conversation, he and host Christian Taylor—director of the award-winning documentary The Girl Who Wore Freedom—explore what success really means when the money isn’t there but the mission keeps growing.

What You’ll Learn:

• What does the D-Day Leadership Academy teach kids in Normandy?
• How do you pivot a nonprofit when your core programs collapse?
• What did WWII veterans say about people recreating on Normandy’s beaches?
• How do you define success when your documentary or nonprofit isn’t financially profitable?
• What are John Elway’s three rules for running a successful charity event?
• How does Stoic philosophy help when you’re facing failure in filmmaking or leadership?
• What documentary films should you watch? Elway to Marino, Miracle: The Boys of ’80, Cold War on Ice

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

03:07 How Christian and Jake met in Normandy, France

04:56 The Girl Who Wore Freedom documentary connection

06:19 Following up on failure: Epic Bill and redefining success

09:00 OP Gone Bad band years: when the road is worth it

12:16 Stoicism and choosing your response to hardship

15:06 Virginia Beach at night: perspective and insignificance

17:16 Documentary filmmaking relationships that last a lifetime

18:36 Denver Police Activities League: origin and mission

22:00 Starting inner-city hockey with the Colorado Avalanche

23:56 Youth sports crisis: specialization, concussions, and insurance

27:12 The pivot: shutting down programs and reimagining the mission

28:04 How the Normandy leadership program began (2015)

30:16 What the D-Day Leadership Academy program looks like today

33:31 Five pillars of D-Day leadership: empathy, chaos, preparation

36:04 Expanding to adult leadership retreats in Normandy

42:45 Normandy tours: culinary, yoga, couples, and classical concerts

45:13 The Girl Who Wore Freedom guided tour and charity auction

47:55 What WWII veterans said about children playing on Utah Beach

49:49 Message to documentary filmmakers: your film matters

51:53 John Elway’s elevator advice on charity events

55:58 DocuVue Déjà Vu: Elway to Marino, Miracle: The Boys of ’80, Cold War on Ice

About Jake Schroeder:

Jake Schroeder is a fourth-generation Colorado native, former frontman of the funk-rock band OP Gone Bad, and sang the national anthem for the Colorado Avalanche (NHL) over 1,000 times across 25 years. He began volunteering with the Denver Police Activities League in 1999, became executive director in 2014, and transformed the organization into the D-Day Leadership Academy—a nonprofit that brings inner-city youth, police officers, and combat veterans to Sainte-Mère-Église, Normandy, France to learn leadership through the stories of D-Day, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, and the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. He lives in Golden, Colorado with his partner Brooke Ferguson, principal flutist of the Colorado Symphony. Website: Home | D-Day Leadership Academy

If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a review!

VIRGIL FILMS LINKS:

Home (New)

Virgil Films (@VirgilFilms) on X

Virgil Films and Entertainment

Virgil Films (@virgilfilms) • Instagram profile

Hello.

2

Somehow we both got on mute.

3

Yeah, we're good.

4

Okay.

5

um So how did your levels look?

6

pinning out or anything, still below the threshold.

7

And it was down at like 14%.

8

I wanted to make sure that it was high enough.

9

But it doesn't matter how loud it sounds.

10

It just matters what it looks like on the monitor.

11

um Because it records to your computer.

12

And then what happens afterwards is that it uploads to the cloud.

13

Okay.

14

So you just have to watch the monitor.

15

All right.

16

Okay, I think we're good.

17

All right.

18

And it's recording now, which is interesting.

19

I didn't even push report that I didn't know.

20

Okay.

21

All right.

22

Here we go.

23

All right.

24

Huh.

25

All right, I'm starting.

26

Hi everybody and welcome to Documentary First.

27

I'm your host, Christian Taylor.

28

This is an inside look at documentary filmmaking and I am a documentary filmmaker myself.

29

I sit down usually with storytellers from all over the world and I talk to them about uh

capturing real life one frame at a time so we can all become better filmmakers.

30

But today we have a very different uh

31

exercise on our hands and I'll tell you about that in a minute.

32

We um have somebody that's not a filmmaker, but he has a really interesting story to tell

us.

33

And we're going to follow up on last week's podcast.

34

So I'm going to introduce him for a second, but uh I have a little housekeeping to do.

35

So if you're new to our show, I'd like you to take a moment and subscribe to our podcast

on any platform that you're on.

36

mean, of course, if you like what you're hearing by the end.

37

and follow us on all of our typical social media channels.

38

Also share anything, some of our little clips.

39

We put up clips of our podcast.

40

Share them with your friends so that other people can discover our podcast.

41

And if you're listening to this podcast and you'd like to feel more like you're on the

inside with us, you can watch the show on our YouTube channel.

42

All right, here are the housekeeping notes before I get started.

43

In case you didn't listen to last week's episode, we've started something new and it's

called the documentary first, the deep dive.

44

It's a little mini podcast where I take an insight that I learned from the week before and

I dig into it a little deeper.

45

These episodes last about 15 or 20 minutes and they're just as valuable I think for non

filmmakers as they are for filmmakers.

46

So you need to check them out.

47

And if you could take a moment also to review them, if you like them and also share them

with your social media platforms, that would be amazing.

48

We'd love people to discover those.

49

And it would just, I think you're gonna love them.

50

Last week's what is particularly interesting and it's kind of what we're gonna follow up

with this week.

51

It was about failure.

52

So check it out.

53

Now on with the show.

54

Today, we've got Jake Schroeder with us.

55

Jake, thank you so much for being here.

56

It's really great to see you.

57

My pleasure, good to see you too.

58

Jake and I've been friends for quite some time now.

59

We met in Normandy and we'll get to how we met in a few minutes, but first let me read

your bio.

60

So Jake is a fourth generation Colorado native.

61

He fronted the local band OP Gone Bad for about 20 years.

62

He also sang the national anthem for the Colorado Avalanche over 1000 times in 25 years.

63

In 1999, he started volunteering with the Denver Police Activities League.

64

And after

65

beginning work there full-time in 2005 and becoming the executive director in 2014, he

supervised the change to the D-Day Leadership Academy.

66

This new mission for a long established nonprofit was inspired by Jake's trips with World

67

stories and to pass them down to new generations.

68

Jake has three wonderful daughters whom I've all met and think they're amazing.

69

A one-year-old grandson who I've still yet to meet, but I would love to, and lives with

his partner Brooke Ferguson, who's an awesome lady in Golden, Colorado.

70

He loves getting to watch her perform as principal flutist.

71

Is it flutist or flautist?

72

It's either actually either or either.

73

Yeah, I learned that first date.

74

So

75

okay.

76

with the Colorado Symphony and helps, um, raise funds for them.

77

So are you saying the Colorado Symphony helps raise funds for the DDA Leadership Academy

or you guys help raise funds for the Colorado Symphony?

78

She's very involved with the development for the symphony and also we've been cooperating

on some projects in Normandy, believe it or not, which is kind of cool.

79

So, symbiotic relationship with our works.

80

Yeah, that's beautiful.

81

Okay, so let's start and why don't you start the story about how we met.

82

Well, we probably should have met when you were first over in Normandy looking for your

son because we probably walked by each other.

83

We were at the same ceremonies and uh a lot of the same events that went on.

84

I was there with veterans and you were there with your son and ran into some locals there.

85

we probably, like, I was surprised when I watched the documentary, the full version of it,

that I didn't see this.

86

big giant bald head walking behind you or, you know, like get in the way of your shot or

whatever.

87

Because we, we, was at many of those events.

88

started going in 2011 as a volunteer with another organization over there and bringing

veterans back and then move that into what we do now.

89

But I was in Normandy a lot.

90

And then we met in 20, I believe was 2018 when you were filming the documentary proper.

91

And we had, uh we had just bought a new building.

92

in St.

93

Mary's and had some folks from your documentary crew and producers and things like that,

that were able to stay at the house.

94

And that kind of ended up being evolving to a point where even part of the documentary was

filmed in the front room, Charles Shea, an interview with Charles Shea in front of our

95

fireplace with a gaudy green oracle on it.

96

So, and then since then we've right, we've done a lot of work together and have very

similar missions and

97

And I think that your, your documentary really captures something that I was, that I

struggled to kind of explain to people when I talk about the magic of Normandy and how

98

wonderful of a place it is in so many ways.

99

And your documentary really captured that really well, I think for, for the significant

part of it that relates to the world war two, the world war two part of what Normandy

100

really is.

101

So, um, so yeah, and then we've stayed in touch and done charity stuff for each other and

done.

102

events and talks and all sorts of stuff.

103

you're, you're the headliner, uh, along with my friend, Matt, who's a Pulitzer prize

winner.

104

You're going to do a, uh, panel discussion at our event, uh, next week, which might be in

the past when the podcast is watched by people, but, but I'm sure that I'm sure it went

105

really well.

106

And, uh, and I'm excited for that.

107

And, uh, and we also have a cooperative effort that we're doing in September that you've

donated your services to help us raise some money for what we're doing.

108

So really great.

109

of ties into one thing that I wanted to anchor our podcast around, um which is last week I

did this podcast um with Quinlan Benson-Yates.

110

She's a filmmaker that did a film called Epic Bill.

111

And we talked about that last week.

112

And if you didn't listen to that podcast, everybody, you definitely need to do that.

113

You need to see the film.

114

It is about a man who lost his

115

video business, thanks to Netflix, had to reinvent himself midlife and he became this uh

extreme athlete.

116

And he experienced a lot of success in the beginning and then a lot of failure.

117

And he struggled with what that meant and how to handle that.

118

interestingly enough, that podcast and the way that Quinolin uh framed that really

119

spoke a lot to me.

120

I've been dealing with a lot of the same thing recently, a lot of this sense of uh

failure.

121

My film, like you said, has been important in a lot of people's lives.

122

And at the same time, what is not unusual for documentaries, it has had a difficulty

finding a greater audience or being hugely financially successful.

123

It's kind of broken even, but

124

It hasn't been hugely successful like some others.

125

And so we're still struggling to pay our team or pay its bills and things like that.

126

um so listening to that uh podcast, I realized that there are other ways and other

definitions of success and coming to talk to you today reminded me that

127

I really need to stop focusing on dollars uh as a definition of success and I need to

focus more on what other ways, how success looks in other ways.

128

Yeah, I think that's really important.

129

mean, it has to be the essence of it.

130

And I remember I used to tell people, you know, because we my band was local, but we

traveled regionally and we did very well.

131

You know, you know, we were a funk rock band at a time when and we did really well, but we

were at a time when straight ahead rock was really much more prevalent.

132

And I think if we had been a few years later or, uh you know, different, different

elements and also the whole recording industry changed over the time that we were in the

133

band together, you know,

134

phones until we'd already had the band for 17 years or something like that.

135

uh you know, and whereas now you go to a show and everybody's, you know, everybody's got

their phone and so like everything changed, right?

136

It used to be really expensive to go into a studio and you used to have to do a promo

pack.

137

But I used to tell musicians when I'd have a chance to talk to them that with music, the

road has to be worth it because you because you will see hundreds of bands that are

138

horrible.

139

make lots of money and then fade away after their first song and go nowhere.

140

Right.

141

And you'll also see, you'll see people that are these legends that continue to write these

songs that you just go, God, I will never be able to write like that.

142

So it's a, you can't really.

143

And so if you're in a band with guys that you can't stand or guys that don't have aligned

goals or that you don't feel like you're being like you're redeemed when you play or when

144

you write that it's just not worth it.

145

You need to find a situation where that, you know, because

146

If you get into a situation like that, and I was lucky enough to be in that situation for

almost all the years that I was in that band, wonderful human beings in my band and

147

wonderful guys.

148

And the music we played together was so good and so fun and so redeeming for me personally

to get to do.

149

were really good that that was worth it.

150

You know, we made our living playing music as long as we wanted to.

151

And I chose to shut it down after about 20 years.

152

But so I think it's the same thing with with any any endeavor, right?

153

Like

154

I mean, I don't know what it's like to be a banker and I don't know what it's like to be.

155

My brain isn't wired to have a, a metric for success like that.

156

Right.

157

I mean, I have a partner who's a principal flute player and one of the best symphonies in

the world.

158

So that's a metric, right?

159

Like, but she's also an artist and a musician.

160

And so she's always striving to make the orchestra better and always striving to develop

ways to get new crowds and ways to, mean, so she's always working and it's very fulfilling

161

for her.

162

So I think, you know, when

163

The metric that, you know, for podcasters, right?

164

The metric for podcasting is you look at people like, you know, you obviously they're the

Rogans of the world and they're the, the celebrities that have podcasts that make jillions

165

of dollars or whatever.

166

But you also got to look at like some of the top podcasts are these vapid morons that talk

about sex positions and take money from presidential candidates to build sets and do

167

stupid interview.

168

Like it's just not a good metric.

169

to weigh yourself against for a podcast, right?

170

Like you're doing great work and you're featuring great stories.

171

And that's, it's like the old man in the sea, right?

172

He didn't come back with the fish, you know?

173

So, so I think, and that's a, that's the toughest part.

174

Like it's a, just got back from Virginia beach, right?

175

So all the restaurants around that area are not all of them, but many of them are military

oriented and owned by veterans and owned by, you know, lot of old team guys and.

176

and special forces guys and these guys that really excelled at a pretty unique, you know,

vocation.

177

And so there are all these sayings all over these restaurants and I saw and I think one of

them was always do, always do the, this is a paraphrase, but always take the harder right

178

action instead of the easier wrong action.

179

Always do it.

180

So, and so, and that really sucks when you're in the middle of it, right?

181

Like it's.

182

It does.

183

like the stoic stuff that we've talked about before, where it's like, you know, if you're

upset, you are choosing to be upset on some level because you're, you're uncomfortable

184

because something, something out of your control is causing you discomfort.

185

So you are choosing to be discomfort, which is, that is the easiest thing to say to

anybody in the whole world.

186

I love saying that to my kids, right?

187

Cause it's like, it's super simple and like, I'm so wise, but to hear it, you're like,

Hey, screw you, man.

188

Like.

189

this is different.

190

Like this is really hard.

191

Like, I don't know how I'm gonna pay my bills.

192

Right?

193

So it's a it's a balance.

194

But I think that's kind of what life is.

195

I tell my kids this all the time, when somebody is raging mad, like I had one of my kids

who was in charge of a soldier who was just, I mean, this soldier was horrible.

196

And I mean, making my son's life, who's in charge of this soldier miserable and doing

everything she was not supposed to do and making him pay for it.

197

And, you know, he just was raging about what he could do differently and just so mad.

198

And I just kept saying,

199

It does not matter what this person does.

200

It doesn't matter.

201

All that matters is how you respond to this situation.

202

And truthfully, if you let this person get under your skin, this person wins.

203

Like you can't control this person.

204

You have to decide.

205

All you can control is you.

206

That's so easy for me to say.

207

So easy for me to say.

208

But when you're in it, it's nearly impossible.

209

Yeah.

210

All the times that somebody said that to me and I was like, you don't know what it's like.

211

You don't know what you're taught.

212

You know, all of the times that that happened, looking back, I'm like, yeah, I chose to

make myself really miserable for a couple of weeks worrying about X or Y.

213

Like the world continued to spin on its axis.

214

You know, when I was in, when I was in Virginia beach, it was really interesting.

215

I went down and, and, I was there for a couple of days working with a volunteer for our

program.

216

Who's just an unbelievable human.

217

you know, veteran, a Navy veteran and special forces guy who's really, really been the tip

of the spear and really, really worked really hard for this country and done some very

218

difficult things.

219

And he's just the kindest, gentlest, you know, guy.

220

And he's got a new baby and raising his step sons and his wife is just wonderful.

221

And he's just, God, he's just a gift, but working really hard with him because he just

decided he's going to rebuild our website for us and did a really, really

222

Wonderful job and then was working on some things for the event together and and and doing

things like that.

223

So I just really.

224

um I walked down to the beach every night that I was there because I stayed on that, you

know, it's off season, so it's really nice to stay down by the water there and pretty

225

inexpensive.

226

And I just walked down there and the winds blowing and it's like 30 degrees.

227

So it's pretty cold, but I'm just looking at the beach and I'm thinking to myself like

this is.

228

This is this beach has been here.

229

from the beginning of time.

230

And every night it moves more sand than a million men on this beach could move with

shovels every night.

231

It just does it with the waves, right?

232

And I'm such a fart in the wind, you know, compared to the, to the power of what's going

on with this beach.

233

So calm down, you know, like Tyler back, like, like look for the, look for the good stuff,

look for the bright lights, right?

234

And, and keep going.

235

I absolutely love that about the beach is why I go there.

236

feel so small and, and, know, healthily insignificant.

237

And you realize, um, that it has just been coming up to the sand and the shore every day

since the beginning of time and just keeps doing it and doing it and, you know, on its own

238

and that I'm not in charge of that.

239

And I don't have to be.

240

um Yeah, it really kind of puts you in your place.

241

Same thing when I'm flying.

242

I look down over the world and I think, gosh, I'm so small.

243

And I really make such a big deal out of things that I just need to let go.

244

Yeah, perspective is a wonderful gift.

245

you know, one thing I was thinking about as you were talking, you know, when we as

filmmakers, I was thinking about this about our relationship and just, um you know, now

246

when I was filming in your house, that was 2018.

247

So that was, uh you know, we're going on what eight years now and yeah, it's crazy.

248

But since that time, most, some filmmakers, they will make their films, I think, and move

on.

249

But a lot of documentarians that I know continue to have relationships with their

subjects.

250

And there's something about documentary filmmaking and a lot of it is passion work.

251

know, you don't.

252

It doesn't pay a lot.

253

It's not just me.

254

Documentary filmmaking is hard work and you do it because you care about the subject

matter.

255

You want people to know about what's happening and you, you you get really, really

involved with the people that are in your story and you don't just move on.

256

And that absolutely happened with me.

257

You know, the people that are in my story are my dearest closest friends.

258

I almost have more friends in Normandy at this moment than I.

259

do anywhere in America, including the veterans that are still alive.

260

And I think that right there in itself is success.

261

We brought together communities of people in Normandy, in fact, that never knew each

other, survivors of the D-Day experience that never knew each other during that time who

262

were so happy to meet one another.

263

So there were just gifts like that that happened because of us choosing to do this film.

264

that in itself, I feel like are a measure of success and created things like what you

talked about that we are doing this upcoming week.

265

And let me just talk a little bit about what that is.

266

You and I've tried to figure out for a long time, like our missions are aligned.

267

One of the things that you decided to do.

268

um And before we talk about this week, let's go back to what you did start.

269

So you came into this Denver Police Activities League.

270

Let's talk about what it was when you started it.

271

Yeah, was, it was a charity that was started in 1969 and it was, it's all over the

country, mostly in the Eastern half of the country, but some in the West.

272

And basically the mission is to get police officers into communities where they wouldn't

normally be in a non-law enforcement role.

273

So it started off as cops coaching inner city kids in different sports and different

things like that.

274

And it's still manifests that mission in most places.

275

Denver really changed,

276

over the last 20 years that I was there or so, because it got to be, uh you know, the

political environment changed to where, you know, officers weren't really backed up by

277

downtown.

278

And and we stopped really having a lot of coaches that were cops.

279

And that still meant that we had some really incredibly heroic human beings from different

parts of the lot of these guys were guys that had been in trouble earlier in life and

280

really wanted to be a good example.

281

And that was the majority of the guys we had.

282

also had some real dingleberries that were that were still active criminals and brought

guns to practice and stupid stuff like that that we had to manage.

283

But we basically did inner city football leagues and basketball or baseball leagues and

284

And that was that was that's the reason I got into that was from playing shows.

285

And I would often hang out with the cop that worked the door in between sets.

286

just to stay out of trouble, right?

287

So I'm sober and I think over the years, like that was uh something that I struggled with.

288

And so to try and keep myself because when I would get bored or get like, that's when I

would go off and do dumb stuff.

289

So I think just to have a safe place to kind of hang out and talk to somebody, I would go

talk to the cop at the door and got to know a bunch of these guys really well and realize

290

that these were really good people, the guys that I met, the men and women that I met that

worked, they were.

291

You know, not all of them, but almost all of them, like, you know, all but a couple of

them were just really neat people that to a person join the police force because they want

292

to help people.

293

That's what they said.

294

They want to help people.

295

That doesn't equate with this caricature that's being abused a lot of times like, they're,

you know, blah, blah.

296

Almost every cop that I've ever met joined the police force wherever they are to help

people.

297

that said, there's nothing worse than a bad cop.

298

And cops will tell you this thing.

299

um But I got to know these guys and they're like, hey, we've we volunteer for this thing

called Pal.

300

I coach football or coach baseball.

301

So doing the doing the anthem for as long as I did, I got to know a bunch of the players

over the years and a couple of them and I were out solving all the world's problems.

302

And at like four thirty in the morning, decide we're going to start up inner city youth

hockey program.

303

So I got this drunken, you know, blurry check from this guy for five grand and went out

and started an inner city program in like ninety nine.

304

and just got all these kids and got hockey gear from the NHL and just kind of said, go

play hockey and, and let it figure out.

305

was really fun.

306

It was very unorganized and super unorthodox.

307

And, and I'm sure we took on a lot of liability that we didn't necessarily need to take

on, we escaped from it.

308

Nobody really, we didn't have any, the very, like the very first meeting we ever had at a

gym at a middle school was some of the parents that had kids that were in football.

309

They were all excited for us to do hockey because hockey became so big in Denver.

310

after the team moved here and they, you we've always had hockey teams in Denver, but when

the Avalanche moved here, they won the cup the first year they were here, right?

311

So everybody loved, yeah, everybody loved them.

312

Where were they from before?

313

They're Quebec, Quebec City.

314

They were the Nordiques.

315

saw our very first event we're going to have in this gymnasium at like seven o'clock at

night with all these parents and the west side of Denver.

316

So mostly Latino parents and kids.

317

And they were all excited about hockey.

318

We had a bunch of balls and like sticks, you know, playing ball hockey in the gym or

whatever.

319

The very first shot that one of these guys took hit a kid in the mouth and broke his two

front teeth out.

320

So that's how that's how we started.

321

Right.

322

And it was okay because the parents were really, really nice about it and took care of it.

323

And, and, but that's, that was how we started.

324

And, and it just evolved into me volunteering over there since 99.

325

And we did, um, we did the inner city hockey and then we, and we kind of morphed into a

sled hockey thing for, uh, for disabled kids.

326

They have two, two poles and they push and we've got some really famous sled hockey

players from Colorado.

327

These two guys that were

328

All state wrestlers were hit by a car, changing a tire and lost their legs.

329

And then they became sled hockey players and won the gold medal at the Paralympics.

330

Multiple clients.

331

they're, they're Jerry and I can't remember the other guy's name.

332

And they're like these, they're just the neatest guys anyway.

333

So volunteering and then moved into working their full time.

334

And we did football and baseball football.

335

had about 2,500 kids and in baseball, we had about 1500 kids.

336

And, kind of as time went on, um,

337

You know, youth sports have really changed and anybody that has a child in youth sports

now knows it is an industry.

338

And if you don't go to this camp, your kids might not start, you know, because I run the

camp too.

339

And I started, he's there's a lot of stuff he's got to learn.

340

And, and, you know, I don't think he should play any other sports.

341

He should stick with football or stick with basketball or stick with baseball.

342

And so these baseball kids are playing a hundred games a year and these poor little

pitchers, I know they try and watch it, but.

343

And it's not just camp we're talking about, it's travel sports.

344

m

345

and it's and it's outrageously expensive.

346

So we had a low cost league and had kids, but we still had these kids that were

specializing and and and the parental behavior at fields all over, not just in our league

347

with with the inner city kids, but all over became a real problem.

348

And we had extra issues because we had a lot of gang members that were parents.

349

And so we had to really watch it.

350

And I'll tell you, the most reasonable people I ever dealt with.

351

at those fields were the most notorious gang members that we had.

352

Because they didn't, they don't want to, whatever goes on, they don't want to interrupt

their revenue stream.

353

So if somebody's uncle was acting up at a game, starting a fight or chasing the refs, a

lot of times that stuff got managed by itself.

354

When I would go talk to one of these OGs and be like, hey, what do want me to do?

355

And he'd be like, I got it.

356

And so they take care of it.

357

But we still had a lot of, we took weapons off people all the time.

358

We stopped fights.

359

Every week we called cars code 10, which is lights and sirens to fields probably 15 times

a year, which is like like like a officer down level of calling police cars because we're

360

outnumbered 1000 to one there.

361

And I'm not a cop.

362

I was like, you know, and then the cops are like, do you have your concealed carry permit?

363

I'm like, yeah, they're like, you got to carry all the time.

364

I was like, I'm going to band like I want to, you know, my God, you know, and think, you

know, thankfully and you know.

365

I mean, I never had to think about using it or pulling it out or anything like that.

366

was, it was non-factor, but there were a couple of scary moments where the cops come over

here with me, I need you to stand here and watch that guy because he's got a gun and I'm

367

going to try and take it off and stuff like that.

368

Yeah.

369

And this is, then, you know, as the concussion stuff became more prevalent, I really

changed the way I feel about young, young players playing football and, and getting

370

concussions.

371

And I think there's no real.

372

The way I feel now, I don't believe anybody should be playing tackle football until

they're 16, until they're in high school.

373

Kids can learn almost everything they need to know up to that point.

374

Positioning plays, and it's a lot more fun for them.

375

And we still have a bunch of meathead old coaches that were doing the Oklahoma drill,

running these kids into each other's helmets like I did when I was growing up.

376

That's now like just a concussion generator, right?

377

And so we have these kids, you know, I had my final year there, I had four parents, fake

doctor's notes.

378

allowing their kids back in after a concussion.

379

So between that and the fact that our insurance went up by a factor of eight in one year,

right?

380

We were, it was not going to have longevity.

381

So we shut that down.

382

I negotiated with Under Armour for like three years to do this flag product that they do

called Under the Lights.

383

It was going to be great every Friday night, this flag thing and DJs and food trucks.

384

like, it was great baseball.

385

We'd finally, after nine years of negotiating with Parks and Rec in Denver, we negotiated

a

386

a deal to cooperate in our two leagues because they were redundant.

387

So we're going to merge our leagues together with the city of Denver who can afford fields

and can afford referees and can afford all this stuff.

388

And then we're getting ready to unleash that in 2019.

389

We had a new chief, Paul Payson, who was from Denver, played pal, you know, had high hopes

for him and he decided he was going to run for mayor or whatever he was going to do.

390

So he was going to do his own branded inner city programming and pulled the cops out of

pal after 50 years.

391

Wow.

392

So of course never got around to it and then COVID hit and he was a very short tenured

police chief in Denver and uh really, uh you know, but so I had a lot of, you know, like

393

you talk about the guy failing and failing and failing.

394

Well, we kind of, you know, we had to pivot and upset a lot of people and change our

mission and do a lot of different things and sold the building that I had built there with

395

private funds and.

396

uh

397

And here we are because it was, realized the value of the vote we started doing in 2015.

398

We started bringing cops and kids and veterans back to Normandy.

399

We'd rent a chateau.

400

Well, how, how did that?

401

mean, okay.

402

So you had this huge program and you had all these kids and then you're like, okay, I

can't, I can't keep this up.

403

So I'm shutting all that down and, and how you just decide to go to Normandy.

404

Like that seems like a huge gigantic switch.

405

before before all that went down.

406

We started in 2015 and I shut the programs down, shut football down in 2016, got ready to

407

Baseball continued through those years, got ready to do the cooperative program in 2019.

408

So we had those programs still.

409

And, you know, I came to PAL originally because I realized that these police were really

neat people.

410

But then I started to realize that these kids in Denver Public Schools is a disaster.

411

They have a 30 % minority graduation rate.

412

just did some testing after COVID and 5 % of their second graders can read or do math to

grade level.

413

I mean, it is a meat grinder.

414

like a documentary that needs to be made.

415

Somewhere in there.

416

right?

417

Pick a city where this where the public school system is failing.

418

And and so these kids are they're beautiful.

419

And they're they're just as smart as anybody else.

420

And has nothing to do with the color of their skin or their economic level or anything

like that.

421

These kids are incredible, just incredible.

422

And almost all their parents are equally as incredible.

423

Just amazing.

424

These parents work so hard to get their kids.

425

Up above where they were, you know, and.

426

And so I just felt like it's a really valuable lesson for them because the kids that they

pulled over to, you know, drafted or that joined up after Pearl Harbor were the same.

427

They, you know, we were 80 % agrarian and 20 % lived in cities in 1939.

428

And, and, it's the reverse now, but these kids were just the same and they were close to

the same age as these kids.

429

You know, these, tell these kids in high school, like they were your age.

430

We go to Omaha beach and go to the cemetery at Colos Samara up above there.

431

And the kid that gravestones I'm like, that kid was 17.

432

And they have a moment and the children that are being let down by our public schools are

just as beautiful as any children in the whole world and they deserve everything.

433

So I really feel like these kids already have some leadership skills that a lot of kids

don't.

434

And so for them to see an example, like to give them some, some credibility and some

legitimacy to how they feel about being leaders is really important.

435

And also to give them a metric, they have to fundraise for their airfare and help out with

that.

436

so to.

437

describe the, I mean, you're running ahead of yourself.

438

describe, so describe your vision for the program.

439

When it started, you said you took veterans and police team over there and.

440

Because that evolved from the discussions they had with veterans.

441

and police officers, combat veterans and police officers can have conversations very

quickly with each other because they're both put in a position where they have to make

442

split second decisions where there is not a right answer.

443

Somebody's going to get killed.

444

Somebody's going to get hurt.

445

And that's the same.

446

And that's not a conversation I can have with a veteran.

447

I've never thankfully been put in a position like that.

448

Cops all the time have to do that.

449

So that was an easy one.

450

And then knowing that these kids were coming over, so I brought these kids over with these

cops because the veterans really, really wanted to tell the stories to kids, really want

451

them to be around.

452

And I saw the beauty and the magic of that.

453

And I also knew that we had three or four years to get the veterans into the program

454

And they were 95.

455

you pay for all this?

456

How did that pitch go, you know?

457

raised the money with events and uh and then after COVID, you know, we sold our building.

458

So we've got some money in the bank.

459

And after COVID, I just it was really important to our board director and myself that we

reestablish the program, dip into our savings, make sure it happens for a couple of years

460

and and and get it out there and make it a program that is uh successful.

461

It has the kinks worked out, which we did.

462

And now we're back to kind of like, OK, we're doing one scholarship program this summer

and we're going to kind of build from that.

463

need to.

464

So yeah, I feel like we're for years like we're right on the edge of being able to raise

all the money we need to raise to fill the summer with these kids that normally wouldn't

465

conceive of going to another continent.

466

And so how do the kids get to go and how many sessions do you have and talk to us about

what the program actually looks like?

467

Yeah, so for this summer we have one scholarship program and the kids can apply on our

website which is ddayleadershipacademy.com and they apply and they get interviewed by our

468

board and by some of our volunteers and we pick, you know, 10 to 12 kids that come over

and we have some chaperones and a lot of the kids we have to get passports for them, which

469

is, you know, we bring these kids from Richmond that we have a school counselor in

Richmond who's an incredible lady and she, you know, the kids that she's sent

470

Most of them haven't even left Richmond, let alone left the United States.

471

So we get them passports, they come over to France and we do seven nights in Normandy.

472

uh We used to do a couple nights in Paris and then we kind of realized that this wasn't

really aligning with our mission.

473

And also feel like we were really dodged a bullet with, know, 17 year old kid can get into

a club in Paris if they really wanted to.

474

Thankfully we never had that happen.

475

But, but I just don't feel like that's, that's really anything that we need to.

476

concentrate on is getting kids, kids can come back to Paris.

477

But they go to Normandy for seven nights, have, you family style meals, French, French

meals that are made by maybe the nicest person in the whole world, Michel Coupe.

478

And, uh and we tour around and we talk about battle sites.

479

And we have five elements of leadership that we equate and relate to them, uh to the

stories and the places and the people that we talk about each day.

480

Which are?

481

talk about leading from the front.

482

We talk about total commitment to mission.

483

We talk about chaos.

484

We talk about preparation.

485

And we talk about empathy.

486

And we've kind of came up with those I kind of came up with those over COVID with some of

the veterans and gamed it out and it's conceivable that they'll change and it's

487

conceivable that we'll, we'll get somebody better to do it than me.

488

But for this at this point in time, that's that's where we stand.

489

So it's really easy to teach a lesson of empathy when we talk about Waverly Woodson, a

black soldier who was treated basically like an animal, saving the lives of 300 white GIs

490

on Omaha Beach under fire on D-Day.

491

Right.

492

Or you see the blood stains in the pews at Angovilla Plain from German soldiers and from

American soldiers that two 20 year old medics from the 101st saved the lives of 84 people.

493

Right.

494

Why in the world would they work on Germans who were the ones that probably

495

killed and wounded their friends.

496

Well, that's an easy epic lesson, right?

497

Or we talk about preparation.

498

You we're in St.

499

Mary's Glees, so the paratroopers are, that's where they, me, that's where the 82nd and

101st kind of sowed their oats.

500

And so it's really easy to talk about preparation and the fact that these guys were way

off course and all over the place and still figured out how to get to where they were

501

getting.

502

still figured out how to accomplish our mission.

503

And chaos used to be something that I stressed about teaching.

504

And now it's like, well, remember the day that COVID started and your parents were home

from work for no reason, you didn't have school anymore, and nobody knew when it was gonna

505

start up again.

506

And you could wear a mask into the restaurant, but could take it off when you sat down

because the virus made a deal with the government or whatever.

507

Like it's really easy to explain like things that you just don't expect are gonna happen,

happen.

508

Like things that you wouldn't even conceive of in your life are gonna happen to you.

509

COVID has been a great teaching tool for teaching that chaos, because everybody's going to

have it leading from the front.

510

have some great examples there, Dick Winters and the very easily accessible stuff like

Banda Brothers and a bunch of other stories that aren't told in movies or books uh and uh

511

total commitment to mission.

512

Talked about why we threw so many men and resources right at the teeth of the German

Atlantic wall, because we had to save the world.

513

Yeah, it's interesting.

514

You know, the more you talk about that, the more I realize this doesn't just need to be a

middle school, high school uh leadership, you know, camp.

515

needs to be any adult person.

516

Yeah.

517

Yeah.

518

So let's, let's bridge that.

519

So, um, one day I showed up and you had a, I don't know why I was there at this certain

time, but you had a,

520

you know, a week going on and you're like, come on in and meet these kids.

521

They're watching your movie.

522

And I didn't even know this was going on.

523

So I guess you start some sessions that way.

524

Yeah, we do.

525

I mean, it's a really great way to kind of teach anybody what's really going on in

Normandy.

526

And I think that's just part of the magic in Normandy.

527

for Americans, to ask about Normandy, the first thing they think of is D-Day, unless

they're culinary arts students or whatever.

528

But for the most part, Americans are like, Normandy.

529

think, you know, a lot of people say Normandy Beach, or they say, you know, they don't

really know.

530

But Normandy is magical.

531

100 years war was there and there are Viking remnants and Roman ruins and the greatest

salt of the earth people I've ever met in my life and the cleanest food I've ever eaten

532

and the most beautiful terrain and that I mean it's like there's so much to it there but

the poignant lessons you know as Tomah our caretaker and one of our guides likes to say

533

you know the the only exciting thing to happen in Normandy in the last thousand years was

534

right.

535

is of comforting, right?

536

Yeah.

537

Yeah.

538

mean, again, that kind of, was really humbled to see that you were using um the Girl Who

Wore Freedom to kick off that lesson to introduce these kids to what is actually going on

539

in Normandy.

540

But it goes to the, you know, the theme of today's podcast, which is, you know, the

definition of success, which is this film shows what the French do.

541

If you haven't seen the Girlie War Freedom, you can

542

watch it on Amazon, Apple TV, Voodoo, YouTube, and you get this understanding.

543

You can see D-Day through the French eyes.

544

I was so humbled when I got there.

545

And I mean, I've been in government life and my father was in the Reagan administration.

546

I lived in Washington, DC, you know, for 15 years.

547

And I thought I understood.

548

I thought I was a very patriotic person.

549

And I was clueless when I got there, France.

550

you know, was so grateful for their freedom that they treated me as if I'd liberated

Normandy and they were worshiping my son and he was just a, you know, 20 year old American

551

soldier.

552

And, you know, the other units that liberated them, not to mention the veterans that were

there and they knew more about our military and their patches and their units than I could

553

ever imagine.

554

And it was, then I learned over the last, you know, eight years, I mean, it wasn't

555

It wasn't just Normandy, it's all over the small towns and villages in France.

556

And it's not just France, it's Belgium and the Netherlands and Luxembourg and, you know,

Holland, I mean, everywhere.

557

And, you know, Germany even, mean, crazy uh how grateful our allies have been and continue

to be even despite what is happening today and why they're so heartbroken.

558

I mean, I'm receiving texts and messages all the time about

559

you know, what's happening and how heartbroken they are.

560

you, and it's not going to dim.

561

It's not like they're canceling the Normandy commemorations this summer because America

has turned their back on them.

562

um They never will because they're not going to stop honoring these men that sacrificed

and gave everything for their freedom.

563

Yeah, it's a totally separate, separate issue.

564

it's, and it's, you know, the world's always going to be changing, you know, and it's, you

565

he wants every American soldier off French soil immediately.

566

And Eisenhower said, well, you're going to have to give me a few days to dig up all the

boys in Normandy.

567

And that was the end of that conversation.

568

So things have been, things have been worse and things will, things will go back and forth

and things are.

569

You know, some things might seem really bad at the time and then end up being a, being a

blessing later on.

570

You know, we don't know.

571

Um, but, but yeah, you're right.

572

Like I wanted to say something about your, relates to the podcast part of this, you know,

where you're, you're, you strive and you strive and you strive and you don't know you're

573

striving for.

574

And in your documentary, know, Madame Renaud didn't, didn't start cleaning up graves for

publicity.

575

She didn't start cleaning that up to create this.

576

tourist industry for D-Day over in Normandy.

577

She did it because they were wrecked with all these young men that they saw every day get

buried in their backyards that gave them their freedom back.

578

And we, as Americans, we are so fat and happy over here.

579

We take freedom completely for granted.

580

Well, I don't think we can define what freedom is because I don't think we truly

understand or know what freedom is because I don't think you can until you've had it taken

581

away.

582

And we have an inkling because of COVID.

583

Like you said, it was a great teacher.

584

We have an inkling, but not really.

585

No, it was almost like a farce.

586

It was like a Monty Python skit of having your freedom taken away.

587

Like you can't ride your motorcycle because of COVID.

588

Like, what?

589

Or like, well, nobody else can go to the beach, but I'm to go to the French Laundry with

my buddies and not wear a mask because I'm the governor and nobody's going to ever find

590

out.

591

Oops.

592

know, like it was a joke.

593

Yeah.

594

Yeah.

595

and Sweden didn't do anything and Sweden's like, hey, look, our mortality rates are way

lower than everybody else.

596

What do know?

597

So yeah, I think you're right.

598

I think, mean, and hopefully we never find out.

599

I mean, there's a shelf life and a half life on freedom.

600

And what I think it was Reagan that said it's only one generation away at any time from,

going away.

601

true when we forget the cost and nobody alive remembers their relatives being slaughtered

and um they begin realizing they don't realize the cost.

602

And so it doesn't seem expensive.

603

so um anyway, all that to say, um you beginning um these weeks with these kids, um you've

realized

604

yes, we do need to keep raising money.

605

This program is important and we need to find ways to do that.

606

You have um purchased this home in St.

607

Mary's, which is sort of this breadbasket of the Normandy experience, as I tell people.

608

And it makes it great because it's this centerpiece where you can kind of get everywhere

else from easily.

609

And it's a place where you can house a lot of people.

610

You've designed it that way.

611

And um so you have the ability to um kind of bring people over in groups.

612

And you thought, well, go ahead, tell what your ideas.

613

Well, we all along, wanted to do, you know, the houses kind of came up and we got an

incredible deal on the house and we've spent a lot of money fixing it up and it's really

614

in great shape now.

615

And we really have, uh, have gotten it centered around being a place where everybody's

comfortable.

616

So, um, but we always kind of had in the back of our minds that we were going to do adult

programming over there as well, whether it's just tourism where people donate to the

617

charity.

618

So I do a guided tour of them in Normandy or leadership.

619

programming because you know, lot of these executives are required to take, you know, a

leadership program every year.

620

Um, and so that's kind of the, that's eventually the strata that we're shooting to get

into.

621

And it takes time to get into that.

622

So we're, working on that.

623

also have, so like we have, you know, your tour that you're going to do one for us in

September, but then hopefully we'll continue to do more where you're, mean, just if you

624

see the documentary and then get to go over to France with you for a tour.

625

and see these places that inspired you to make that documentary and meet some of the

people that were in it and hear some of the stories on site.

626

I can't imagine a better way to really get a very true idea of what that area was like

during World War II.

627

But we're also looking at doing like culinary couples tours.

628

We're looking at doing a couples yoga retreat beyond just adult leadership.

629

And then we're doing family, family tours.

630

You know, we're doing uh we do a cooperative venture in August now.

631

We did our first one last year and it was wildly successful where we offer, you know, um a

room to another nonprofit to auction off.

632

And we bring to, you know, Brooke, my partner, who's a, you know, one of the, one of the

best flute players in the world and a classical guitar player named Masakazu Ito, who is,

633

who is one of the top classical guitarists in the world.

634

And is also the, the conductor for the Colorado School of Minds Orchestra.

635

And then I come.

636

sing and apparently get a tax break for everybody and do a couple songs.

637

And, we do these classical performances in the church and in our backyard and in gardens.

638

And, and so these people get to come over, see the area, eat the food, experience life in

Normandy, and then have these private concerts in these beautiful settings.

639

And it was really successful.

640

So we're to do more of that this year.

641

We're actually expanding it.

642

So, so, you know, we're looking at all, all options and, and fundraising is really

changing, as you know, and we've tried.

643

a little bit of everything and we're just gonna keep, like you said, the journey is the

goal, right?

644

Yeah, and I, you know, that's kind of what we're doing.

645

em You know, we're we're auctioning off and I'm so thrilled to be a part of this.

646

We're auctioning off next week, which when people listen to this, it will probably be

passed.

647

But we're auctioning off, I think, eight.

648

Is it eight couples trips or is it what is it?

649

to auction off a trip, a couples trip at the dinner.

650

Again, we've got eight available.

651

So we, yeah.

652

So I think we've already sold a couple of them.

653

And if we have a couple of emitters that go back and forth against each other, then we'll

maybe we'll, maybe we'll offer a second one, but it's an opportunity for people to, donate

654

some money and, uh, you know, get their right off and then also have a really incredible

experience, a once in a lifetime experience.

655

Yeah.

656

And so I've designed a tour, a Girl Who Wore Freedom tour, and I will go over in the fall

and I have designed it to kind of follow the movie and explain from my experience what

657

happened.

658

And what's different about it is that it is going to be as an American uh going over to

realize what I learned and how I was changed by the people I met and the experiences that

659

I went through.

660

And I'll be able to introduce them to people in the film.

661

Danny, the Girl Who Wore Freedom has agreed to

662

you know, to meet and talk and share her story because, you know, they have been

supportive.

663

She and Flo have been so supportive of your mission and love you so much.

664

So we have amazing opportunities right now uh to do these things.

665

And it's part of just continuing to share this mission.

666

And, you know, as I heard you talking about your own leadership goals, those same

leadership goals that you're teaching about apply in filmmaking, like

667

Every single one of those things are things that I have talked about in over the podcast,

the things that directors and producers need to learn and need to manage over the course

668

of a filmmaking production.

669

And so we could take those same pillars and, you know, do a producing directing workshop

there in Normandy for, you know, seven days, 10 days, whatever.

670

And I also thought about doing a creative retreat.

671

where we go over and write.

672

mean, it's one of the most contemplative, beautiful places ever um to do one of those sort

of things.

673

So um other than just the Girl Who Wore Freedom Tour, my mind is spinning about ways to m

continue to create the mission or carry the mission and teach people, use that beautiful

674

place.

675

And I was thinking about this this morning, I would like to come back and just be there

myself, because I would love to enjoy the beach in the summer.

676

So I could take advantage of what the men died for, you know, in a time where I could

really use that beach as it was, you know, as they gave their lives for it to be used, you

677

know?

678

You know, and that's, that's one thing that people, if they hear this podcast might be

like, well, but doesn't that seem disrespectful to be on the beach?

679

And I will tell you that's how I felt.

680

And I asked no less than 20 veterans as I went over there with them and four of them on

the beach at different times, Anthony Malan, who was a, an LST driver that landed at Utah.

681

And we were down at Utah beach and he saw these kids playing and just started crying.

682

I said, I said, how do you feel about people recreating?

683

on Utah Beach.

684

And he's like, he looked at me like, oh, that's why we came.

685

That's what they all said.

686

So they're so cool.

687

reason I said that.

688

I've heard them say the same thing and I thought it's so logical.

689

Like we don't think about it.

690

want it.

691

We see it as hallowed ground.

692

But when you put yourself in the mind of the veteran and you think about what they went

through, you know, to give those people that freedom to play on the beach, you're like, my

693

gosh, I want I want to play there for them because that's the most honorable thing you

could do, you know.

694

Right.

695

It's a, you know, as Americans, you know, we're, we're stupid and we, don't have a very

much of a grasp of anything else.

696

And we love to be judgmental.

697

So one of the things I'll always listen for when I'm there for D-Day stuff is, know, as

Americans getting a couple of beers under their belt and saying like, well, we saved you

698

like, Hey, come here.

699

You know, you didn't save anybody like your granddad might have, but you didn't do

anything.

700

So.

701

dial it back a little bit.

702

And so there's a people back, well, I think that's really disrespectful.

703

Like, well, I actually talked to like more than 20 of the guys that actually fought on

these beaches.

704

And that was their favorite thing about being at these beaches was seeing children

squealing and laughing and running in the water and playing.

705

so that's everybody can recreate enormity on the beaches with a clear conscience, you

know.

706

Yeah, I feel so incredibly blessed that we have had this opportunity to meet these

incredible men.

707

um

708

think the connection got bad for a minute there.

709

I lost you for a second.

710

I'm going to just mark this and we're going to start over.

711

I mean, I'm just going to say what I was going to say.

712

Okay.

713

I just feel so incredibly blessed that we've had this opportunity to meet these incredible

veterans and the thought that I was able to film them and hear their stories and save

714

them.

715

And not only that, the, you know,

716

French survivors that we have Jean-Marie's story in there and Danny's story and Henri

Jean, Maurice Lacour and Denise Laconte.

717

I mean, I'm just so incredibly grateful that we were able to capture those before they

were gone.

718

um It's just incredible.

719

Yeah.

720

So all of that to say, you filmmakers that are listening, your films may not be making a

lot of money, but it does not mean they should not be made.

721

It does not mean that you should consider yourself a failure.

722

You just need to fail sustainably.

723

You need to have uh to realize that courage is a muscle.

724

So you need to keep practicing courage and you need to keep getting up when you feel like

you have failed and you need to be filmmaking in a responsible way.

725

that means Joe Amaday has said, my distributor has said,

726

Don't make a documentary right now for more than $250,000 because it's going to be hard to

break even right now in this market for more than that.

727

Make sure that you're planning um backwards.

728

Figure out who the market is, who's going to buy your film, um where you're going to sell

it, et cetera, et cetera.

729

Make sure you save tons of money for marketing and build that into your budget.

730

you know, before you ever begin.

731

So make sure that you're planning these things out before you ever begin.

732

So just be really responsible in your filmmaking.

733

uh Know that when you invest your heart into your subject matter, there are going to be

relationships that you could cultivate for a lifetime.

734

You could be changed.

735

My life has never been the same.

736

It will never be the same.

737

And I don't want it to be, you know, I don't want it to be.

738

And

739

I may never make another movie.

740

Well, that's, mean, I will.

741

I'm halfway done with the years of Fahrenheit.

742

I will do more.

743

But even if I never did, um I will go to my grave knowing that I have accomplished, I

think, God put me on this earth to do.

744

Well, that's authentic, right?

745

That's if there's not, it's very obvious that you're very authentic about what you think

about that and what you said about the people of Normandy.

746

And that's one of the easiest things that people can pick up on is if you're not being

authentic.

747

So you talked earlier about like documentary, know, like other documentarians, other, if

you're not moved by it, here's a quick little story.

748

So I grew up in Colorado, right?

749

So.

750

was born in 68.

751

So 1984, this quarterback that got drafted by the by the Colts somehow ends up in Denver,

the greatest, you know, John Elway comes here and is like growing up with that guy through

752

high school.

753

I mean, he was the biggest celebrity in Colorado.

754

And as I got older and I started singing the anthem at Bronco games and doing stuff with

the band.

755

Yeah.

756

And doing stuff like playing.

757

played for the Broncos, you know, football parties and things like that and got to know

some of those guys and

758

And so, but my, my first John Elway moment was in the elevator at the Cherry Creek mall,

right?

759

And it's this glass elevator and I get on there and, it's just John and I, and I look at

him and I'm like, I, doing?

760

goes, Hey Jake.

761

And I was like, my, dad would have just died, right?

762

He was already dead, but he would have died again.

763

And he goes, Hey Jake, I go, John, have a question for you.

764

he's like, what?

765

And it's like, cause he just gets bugged.

766

go, give me, give me a quick bullet point success for charity events.

767

Cause he was running the John Elway golf tournament.

768

that was huge, he televised.

769

don't know, he's probably, this is probably early 90s, I think.

770

And he said, okay, he goes, all right, good question.

771

He goes, first of all, pick a charity that you really believe in.

772

Otherwise, nobody's gonna help you.

773

He goes, that's first.

774

goes, second, don't lose money.

775

Don't lose any money, but don't worry about making any money right off the bat, because

it'll come.

776

And he said, and make sure everybody has a really good time.

777

He goes, and that's how to be successful.

778

Just make sure everybody really has fun and think outside the box.

779

And so that seems like that, you from what I hear from you, I don't know the first thing

about filmmaking, which is really good for everybody.

780

Right.

781

But that sounds like a transfer is pretty well, right?

782

Be authentic.

783

Pick something that you really love.

784

Don't get stupid and lose a bunch of money.

785

Do something, you know, pick a project that really means something to you.

786

Cause people can tell.

787

and make sure everybody has a really good time.

788

Make sure you communicate what moves your heart about that.

789

And I think that you're the girl who wore freedom and I'm sure your forthcoming

documentaries are all gonna be the same.

790

You're kinda like me.

791

I couldn't pretend not to like or dislike something.

792

I'm not very good at that.

793

I'm not good at pretending.

794

I am an actress, but I try to be authentic even there.

795

And I do think that you are a hundred percent right.

796

Your authenticity comes through the camera, whether you're an actress or whether you're a

filmmaker.

797

And our job is to move people's hearts.

798

And, you know, that's the ultimate goal.

799

If we're wanting to do something, if anything is worth doing, it is worth doing well.

800

And our goal truly is to change people.

801

And you do that through moving their hearts and their minds.

802

And I appreciate that.

803

And I do think that, um you know, it's really, really true.

804

You, you've got to, put your whole heart into it.

805

And another thing I'll add is I really try to love my crew and make sure that they are on

board and we together operate as a family and we all enjoy what we're doing so that we can

806

do that as a unit.

807

You know, and there's not a lot of, of infighting that we're just, um, I don't know that

we're all swimming in the same lane or we're all paddling in the same direction in the

808

boat.

809

Um, I think that's really important as well.

810

So yeah.

811

All right, everybody.

812

Well, I will say this one thing.

813

Um, it is time for us to go, but we have not done our docu view deja vu.

814

So we're going to head right into docu view deja vu.

815

And I'm gonna give you two films.

816

This is where I recommend to, or I usually ask the guests, but I didn't put you on the

spot.

817

So I'm gonna recommend two.

818

One is, did you see Elway to Marino?

819

Speaking of John Elway.

820

Oh my gosh, I love that 30 for 30.

821

That's ESPN 30 for 30.

822

I don't know where you can see it, but if you have it, you should see it.

823

That's one.

824

And then did you see Miracle, The Boys of 80?

825

I did, I did, yeah.

826

my gosh, it just came out.

827

It's on Netflix, phenomenal film.

828

It covers the 1980 Winter Olympics, the boys that beat Russia.

829

So it's a great film to catch, especially now during the Winter Olympics.

830

So, all right, everybody.

831

Thank you, Jake, for being here.

832

Yeah, go, go, go.

833

There's one called Cold War on Ice and I think you can watch it on YouTube now.

834

It's about the Summit series that people don't know about in the States very much, but

835

It was a battle and it's one of the most entertaining.

836

If you're a hockey fan, it is one of the most entertaining things you could ever watch.

837

It's called Cold War on Ice.

838

okay, thank you for that one.

839

My husband's gonna love that.

840

We're big Blackhawks fans.

841

I wish I'd have known you when you were singing for the Avalanche.

842

I would have like come out just to hear that.

843

Well, I see the Blackhawks and the Avs play.

844

I just milli-vanillate it most of the time anyway, so it's alright.

845

All right, everybody.

846

Thank you so much for listening to Documentary First, where we believe everybody has a

story to tell and you can be the one to tell it.

847

Bye, everybody.

848

All right, you did it.

849

Yay, yeah, that was great.

850

Thank you so much.

851

We will divide this into little clips.

852

We'll share them with you.

853

We'll let you know when it comes out.

854

And it's great to see you.

855

Yeah, you too.

856

You too.

857

I'm looking forward to seeing you next week.

858

Yeah, it's coming up so fast I can't wait!

859

And you have all your hotel stuff.

860

You're good to go with the hotel.

861

And you got your check for the flights, right?

862

Okay.

863

checked, cashed, and we're all good.

864

And all of my stuff that I ordered to put in my baskets came and I've got my stuff to

sell.

865

I don't know.

866

I just got a text while I was in here that my friend Judith got a, somebody died close to

her, so she may not be coming.

867

I don't know.

868

I didn't get to really read the text.

869

So I'll let you know about that.

870

And then I may, I will need people to help me sell stuff if that's possible.

871

If you have a volunteer.

872

I do have Angela and her daughters and Brooke and Lily and one of her friends are going to

be there.

873

So they'll be selling lottery tickets during the raffle tickets during the thing and

checking everybody in.

874

thanks, Kristen.

875

OK.

876

Bye.