Getting Under The Skin

What does it mean to stop proving yourself and start living with purpose, identity, and faith?In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Pastor Timothy Johnson, a former NFL player turned pastor, to explore the shift from performance-driven success to a purpose-driven life. Through stories of football, fatherhood, and spiritual growth, Timothy unpacks how chasing validation can disconnect us from who we truly are and what it looks like to start from victory instead of striving for it.This conversation explores identity, self-worth, faith, and mindset, from navigating fatherlessness to redefining success beyond achievement. If you’ve ever felt stuck chasing goals that don’t fulfill you, this episode offers a grounded perspective on purpose, belief, and living with intention.In this episode, they explore:• Finding purpose vs chasing success• Identity and self-worth• Faith and personal growth• Growing up without a father• Control vs surrender mindset• Overcoming the need for validationListen to GUTS:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933Follow GUTS:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

What does it really mean to show up for others and why do we struggle to do it consistently?In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Susan Asiyanbi, a leader working at the intersection of relationships, culture, and organizational change. Susan reflects on how her parents’ values shaped her understanding of service, community, and the belief that every day offers a chance to try again.Through stories of grief, friendship, and personal evolution, Susan challenges the idea that we are “good friends” by default. She explores the gap between how we see ourselves and how we actually show up, the tension between independence and community, and why relationships require more honesty than we’re comfortable with. From navigating loss to redefining what it means to give without expectation, this conversation exposes the complexity of connection.Together, they explore:• Why we’re not always the friends we think we are• The difference between giving freely and giving with expectation• How grief shifts perspective and what actually matters• Why asking for help is uncomfortable but necessary• The tension between independence and needing a village• What it means to be complete but not resolvedListen GUTS:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933Follow GUTS:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

What does it mean to choose your life, even when everything feels stacked against you?In this episode of GUTS, Topaz Adizes sits down with Luis Velasquez, executive coach, Stanford leadership facilitator, and author of Ordinary Resilience. This is a conversation about resilience that isn’t performative. It’s lived. Through stories of survival, identity, fatherhood, and near breaking points, Luis unpacks how reframing reality can become a tool for transformation and how the smallest shifts in perspective can change everything.In this episode, they explore:• Why resilience is built through choice, not circumstance• The difference between fearlessness and fearing less• How identity shapes behavior and long term growth• Reframing pain into purpose and forward movement• Parenting, legacy, and what it means to truly prepare your children for life_____________________________________________________________________Listen GUTS:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933Follow GUTS:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

What does it mean to truly come home to yourself, and what happens when you stop performing and start creating from your soul?In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Didier Sylvain, coach and creative practitioner working at the intersection of personal liberation and collective transformation. Didier has guided executives and teams at organizations like Lionsgate, WME, and the NBA Foundation, drawing from a background that spans Deloitte Consulting, somatics, sound healing, and a deep lineage of embodied practice.Through decades of inner work, loss, and creative discovery, Didier reflects on what it really means to lead from your values, why music is the marrow of his soul, and how the work we do for others is often the work we most need to do ourselves.Together, they explore:• What it means to be alive in your soul vs. hiding from it• How lineage and ancestry shape who we become• The dance between dreaming and discipline• Why the opposite of fear might be play• Creating beauty as a spiritual practice• Grief, vision, and learning to trust the unseen• What it feels like to finally come home_____________________________________________________Follow GUTS:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

What makes a conversation truly good and why are those moments of connection so rare?In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Emma Templeton, social psychologist and researcher studying the science of human connection. Emma explores what happens in the precise moments when conversation clicks and why some interactions leave us feeling deeply understood while others fade away.Through her research on real, unscripted dialogue, Emma reflects on the invisible forces shaping how we connect and why meaningful conversation may be one of the most powerful tools we have.Together, they explore:• Why we dread social interactions we end up loving• What makes conversations feel meaningful• The science of conversational chemistry• Why social scripts limit deeper connection• The value of long, undistracted conversations• Communicating complex ideas simply_____________________________________________________________________Listen GUTS:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933Follow GUTS:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

What if the most painful year of your life was actually preparing you for the family you were meant to have?In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Andrew Kimler, Sundance fellow and award-winning creative producer, for a deeply personal conversation about adoption, fatherhood, creativity, and purpose. After enduring three failed adoptions in a single year, alongside profound personal loss, Andrew reflects on grief, resilience, and what it takes to stay open after repeated heartbreak.Together, they explore:- The emotional reality of failed adoptions and how to mourn what almost was- Why you “can’t get matched with the wrong kid” in the adoption journey- What patience really means and how to use the waiting season well- The difference between what a story is about and what it’s really about- How creativity, writing, and fatherhood reveal your deeper purpose_____________________________________________________________________Follow GUTS:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com